Siddaramaiah entered politics in 1978 when was elected to the Mysore Taluka Board. (File)
Siddaramaiah is one of Congress's tallest leaders in Karnataka. The former Chief Minister remains key to his party's efforts to regain power in the state.
Karnataka is set to witness a three-cornered poll battle between BJP, Congress, and Janata Dal-Secular in the upcoming Assembly election. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is also trying to make inroads in the state and may contest all 224 seats. In 2018, the BJP won 104 seats, the Congress bagged 78 and the JD-S claimed 37 seats in the 225-member Assembly.
The Congress had formed a post-poll alliance with the JDS and together formed the government in 2018. After the collapse of the alliance in 2019, the two parties are heading to the polls as rivals this time. Siddaramaiah's name is likely to be on the Congress's candidates list.
Here are five points about Siddaramaiah:
- Siddaramaiah entered politics in 1978 when was elected to the Mysore Taluka Board. He contested the 1983 Karnataka Assembly elections on a Lok Dal party ticket and won from the Chamundeshwari constituency in Mysore.
- Mr Siddaramaiah later joined the Janata Party and retained the Chamundeshwari seat in 1985. He won again in 1994 on a Janata Dal ticket and in 2004 on a Janata Dal (Secular) ticket.
- In 2005, Siddaramaiah was suspended from the JD-S. A year later he joined the Congress with his followers. He won the Chamundeshwari by-election in 2007. Mr Siddaramaiah has twice served as Karnataka's Deputy Chief Minister.
- Siddaramaiah was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in May 2013 after Congress came to power. He contested the 2018 election on a Congress ticket winning the Badami seat but losing from Chamundeshwari.
- Siddaramaiah belongs to the Kuruba community. He obtained a Bachelor's degree in science from Mysore University and later did law. He practiced law before entering politics.