Constitution is my religion and voters are my abhimani devaru: Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar during a press meet in Bengaluru on Thursday. | Photo credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

Congress president Siddaramaiah, who resigned as Karnataka chief minister on Thursday, said he will continue to be active in state politics and is not interested in moving into national politics.

In a press conference after submitting his resignation, Mr. Siddaramaiah said that the Congress high command had offered him a seat in the Rajya Sabha, which he declined. “I politely declined the offer because I am not interested in national politics,” he said.

He added that he would continue as an MLA saying that the people had elected him for a five-year term. “I will continue to fight communal forces in the state,” he said.

Mr. Siddaramaiah recalled the iconic phrase of the late Kannada actor Dr. Rajkumara about his fans and remarked, “I am a politician. Constitution is my religion and voters are my abhimani devaru (gods of fans).”

Reflecting on his political journey, he said his rise in politics was largely accidental as he came from a rural background and no one else in his family had been involved in politics before.

KPCC president DK Shivakumar and several cabinet colleagues accompanied Mr. Siddaramaiah during the resignation process and later attended a press conference.

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Looking back on his two-decade journey in the Congress, Mr. Siddaramaiah thanked the party leadership for giving him the opportunity to serve Karnataka.

“I got the opportunity to serve the 7 crore people of Karnataka for two terms as the Chief Minister. I also had the opportunity to serve twice as the Leader of the Opposition,” he said.

He expressed gratitude to Congress leaders Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge for their support and said that party workers and leaders have stood by him since he joined the Congress in 2006.

Social agenda

The outgoing chief minister also took the opportunity to defend his government’s social agenda and financial management. Emphasizing his commitment to social justice, he said that inequality in society can only be addressed by ensuring equal opportunities for all sections.

“During my two terms, I have focused on ensuring equality for all,” he said, claiming that his government had fulfilled 158 of the 165 promises made in the Congress manifesto during his first tenure as chief minister.

He highlighted the Congress government’s implementation of five guarantee schemes within the first year of coming to power, despite criticism from opposition parties and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The opposition parties claimed that the guarantee schemes could not be implemented and would become a financial burden. False allegations were leveled against me that the government’s borrowings had gone up,” Mr Siddaramaiah said.

He dismissed the allegations regarding Karnataka’s financial health as politically motivated and claimed that the state’s fiscal position remained stable.

“The state’s economy is healthy. The fiscal deficit is below 3% of the state’s gross domestic product and currently stands at 2.95%,” he said, adding that outstanding liabilities stood at 24.94% of GDP.

Mr. Siddaramaiah said the state budget for 2026-27 has become deficit because the Center has not released promised funds for the Upper Bhadra project, GST compensation and Jal Jeevan.s Mission allocations

Published – 29 May 2026 07:05 IST