Mysuru: Two months after stepping down as Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah has officially announced his retirement from electoral politics.

In a post on X, Siddaramaiah, the MLA representing the Varuna Assembly Constituency in his home district of Mysuru, said that although he was retiring from electoral politics, he would continue to remain active in public life by listening to and responding to the problems of the people.

Citing his age and health as the main reasons for his decision, the veteran Congress leader said that although the people of Varuna had urged him to reconsider, he had firmly decided not to contest any future elections.

Recalling the early days of his political career, when people themselves contributed towards his election expenses, Siddaramaiah said the situation had changed completely, with corruption creeping into every aspect of electoral politics.

“I would be about 81 or 82 years old when the next Assembly elections are due in 2028, the year in which I will complete 50 years in electoral politics. I also have concerns about my health if I continue in electoral politics beyond that,” he wrote.

“However, I have never deviated from my ideology since I began my political career as a Taluk Board member in 1978. I have seen many ups and downs during my five-decade political career. I think now is the best time to hang up my boots and bring my electoral politics to an end,” he said.

Who will succeed Siddaramaiah in Varuna?

With Siddaramaiah announcing his retirement from electoral politics, speculation has begun over who will succeed him in Varuna.

Siddaramaiah entered the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from the Chamundeshwari Constituency in the 1983 elections and represented the Constituency on more than one occasion.

Following the delimitation of Constituencies, he shifted to Varuna, from where he was elected on a Congress ticket in 2008, 2013 and 2023.

In the 2018 Assembly elections, Siddaramaiah contested from both Chamundeshwari and Badami. While he lost to G.T. Devegowda of the JD(S) in Chamundeshwari, he scraped through in Badami, defeating BJP’s B. Sriramulu by a narrow margin.

In all likelihood, his son, Dr. Yathindra Siddaramaiah, currently an MLC and Urban Development Minister in the D.K. Shivakumar Cabinet, is expected to contest from Varuna in the 2028 Assembly elections.

There is also speculation that Siddaramaiah’s grandson, Dhavan Rakesh, son of his elder son Rakesh, who passed away in 2016, could be groomed for a political career.

However, considering his young age of 20 years, he is unlikely to contest the next Assembly election. As things stand, Dr. Yathindra appears to be the frontrunner to succeed Siddaramaiah from Varuna in 2028.