As CM, Siddaramaiah equals record set by D. Devaraj Urs

Mysore/Mysuru: It is a red-letter day today (Jan. 6, 2026) in the political life of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as he equals the record of former Chief Minister D. Devaraj Urs as the longest-serving         Chief Minister of Karnataka.

Until now, Devaraj Urs held the record, having occupied the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) for seven years and 239 days, totalling 2,792 days.

Siddaramaiah, who assumed office for his second term on May 20, 2023, has completed 963 days in his current stint. During his first term between 2013 and 2018, he served a full five years, amounting to 1,829 days. With both terms combined, Siddaramaiah too has now completed 2,792 days in office, equalling Urs’ historic tenure.

In addition, Siddaramaiah holds the distinction of having tabled the State Budget a record 16 times, having retained the Finance portfolio with himself across terms.

Varuna Constituency

Siddaramaiah, who represents Varuna Constituency, registered his ninth electoral victory after winning 2023 polls. In 2018 Assembly polls, he contested from two Constituencies — Chamundeshwari in Mysuru taluk and Badami in Bagalkot district.

While Chamundeshwari was considered his stronghold, Badami was a Congress bastion represented by his loyalist B.B. Chimmanakatti. Siddaramaiah suffered a shock defeat in Chamundeshwari (G.T. Devegowda won) but scraped through a narrow victory in Badami by just 1,696 votes against BJP                            leader B. Sriramulu.

Cong-JD(S) Coalition Government

Following the Congress party’s poor showing in the 2018 elections, it allied with the JD(S), leading to the formation of a coalition Government headed by H.D. Kumaraswamy as the CM for the second time. Siddaramaiah became the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader and chaired the                                                    Coordination Committee.

However, the coalition soon collapsed amid differences between the partners. In a dramatic turn of events, 17 MLAs from Congress and JD(S) resigned and moved to Mumbai, bringing down the Government. Subsequently, the BJP formed the Government under B.S. Yediyurappa, with most of the rebel MLAs later winning by-elections on BJP tickets.

Early days

An Advocate by training, Siddaramaiah entered politics in 1978 under the influence of Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha leader Prof. M.D. Nanjundaswamy (Prof. MDN) and socialist thinker Dr. Rammanohar Lohia. He was elected to the Taluk Board the same year.

In 1980, he unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections. However, in the 1983 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah, contesting as a Lok Dal nominee, sprang a major upset by defeating Congress heavyweight D. Jayadevaraje Urs in Chamundeshwari.

He later extended support to the Janata Party Government led by Ramakrishna Hegde and became Chairman of the Kannada Kavalu Samiti.

Various capacities

Over 47 years of public life, Siddaramaiah has served under several Governments — from S.R. Bommai’s Janata Dal regime to the present — working under CMs H.D. Deve Gowda, J.H. Patel and Dharam Singh.

He became Dy.CM in 1996 under J.H. Patel, but was dropped from the Cabinet following differences between Patel and Deve Gowda.

After the Janata Dal split, Siddaramaiah sided with the JD(S) led by Deve Gowda and served as its State President. In the 2004 Assembly elections, when Congress and JD(S) formed a coalition Government, Dharam Singh became CM and Siddaramaiah returned as Dy.CM.

Chamundeshwari battle

In a major political shift, Siddaramaiah joined the Congress in 2006, ending his nearly three-decade association with the Janata Parivar.

The subsequent by-election to the Chamundeshwari seat turned into a high-voltage contest, with Siddaramaiah winning by a wafer-thin margin of 257 votes against JD(S) candidate Shivabasappa, who had BJP backing.

Siddaramanahundi home

Born on August 12, 1948, in Siddaramanahundi village of Mysuru taluk, Siddaramaiah comes from a humble farming family. He is the fourth of six children born to Siddaramegowda and Boramma. He has often recalled being directly admitted to Class 5 due to his academic aptitude.

After completing his early education in his native village, Siddaramaiah moved to Mysuru for higher studies. He completed his PUC and B.Sc, studied Law and apprenticed under noted Advocate Prof. P.M. Chikkaboraiah. He later practised as an Advocate and also served briefly as a part-time Law Lecturer.