Reasons why INC chose Siddaramaiyah over DK Shivkumar for CM chair

After churning for five days, the Congress has finally finalized the name of the new Chief Minister of Karnataka. Senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah will be the next Chief Minister of Karnataka. He left Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar behind in the CM race. DK Shivakumar also kept trying continuously. For this, he met Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, Rahul Gandhi to UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, but nothing worked out. Siddaramaiah prevailed over DK Shivakumar.

Siddaramaiah got the support of most of the MLAs: Congress has won 135 seats in this election. It is said that in the Legislature Party meeting, 95 MLAs openly took Siddaramaiah’s name. This means the MLA wants to make Siddaramaiah the Chief Minister only. In such a situation, if Congress had made DK Shivakumar the Chief Minister instead of Siddaramaiah, then it is possible that Siddaramaiah could have rebelled later.

Strong penetration of Siddaramaiah in the backward class: This is the biggest reason. Siddaramaiah’s hold is very good in every section. He is especially popular among Dalits, OBCs, and Muslims. In such a situation, if Congress had not made Siddaramaiah the Chief Minister, then it is possible that he could have gone against the party. In such a situation, a large vote bank of Dalits, backward classes, and minorities could also slip from the hands of Congress.

Siddaramaiah’s ‘Ahinda’ formula: Siddaramaiah had been working on the Aminityataru (minority), Hindulidwaru (backward class), and Dalitaru (depressed class) formula for a long time. Siddaramaiah’s focus under the Ahinda equation is 61 percent of the state’s population. He has been working on this formula since 2004 and it has been successful to a large extent. This is such a formula, in which minority, Dalit, backward class voters can be brought together.
Dalits, tribals, and Muslims constitute 39 percent of Karnataka’s population, while Siddaramaiah’s Kurba caste also accounts for around seven percent. Since 2009, Congress has made strong inroads in state politics in Karnataka with the help of this equation. This is the reason why the Congress does not want to dilute it.