A tale of Karnataka CMs who stepped down as per high command diktats

Apart from Siddaramaiah, four other Chief Ministers have had to resign owing to orders from their respective party high commands.

Bengaluru: Siddaramaiah, Karnataka’s longest-serving Chief Minister, resigned on Thursday after directions from the high command to that effect. However, he is not the first in the State’s long political history to do so.

Apart from Siddaramaiah, four other Chief Ministers have had to resign owing to diktats from their respective high commands.

In this listicle, DH looks at the Chief Ministers who so resigned, and the circumstances that led to their resignations.

Veerendra Patil

Veerendra Patil

A prominent Lingayat leader, Patil was the Chief Minister twice from the Congress and contested the 1978 Lok Sabha bypolls as a Janata Party candidate from Chickmagalur, losing to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

During his second stint, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi announced at the Bengaluru airport that Patil would be replaced as the Chief Minister. Ill health and alleged mishandling of communal riots in the old-Mysore region are said to have led to his resignation.

S Bangarappa

S Bangarappa

Sarekoppa Bangarappa, an OBC leader with a socialist background, replaced Patil as the Chief Minister in 1990.

His name was embroiled in the Classik Computer Scam, while there were also controversies surrounding the handling of the 'anti-Tamil' violence in Karnataka related to the Cauvery water-sharing dispute. A committee appointed by the Congress high command, including A K Anthony, is said to have recommended Bangarappa's sacking.

B S Yediyurappa

B S Yediyurappa

BJP veteran B S Yediyurappa is the only one amongst these five Chief Ministers who resigned twice at the behest of the high command. Embroiled in an illegal mining case, Yediyurappa’s resignation became imminent in 2010. Years later, Yediyurappa was made to resign as Chief Minister in 2021 due to intra-party friction and was succeeded by Basavaraj Bommai.

D V Sadananda Gowda

D V Sadananda Gowda

Sadananda Gowda, who succeeded Yediyurappa, was widely considered Yediyurappa’s nominee for the top post. However, differences are said to have developed between the two, which eventually led to Yediyurappa seeking Sadananda Gowda’s removal. With numbers not in his favour, Gowda had to resign, and was replaced by Jagadish Shettar in 2012.

Siddaramaiah

Siddaramaiah

While Siddaramaiah holds the distinction as the only Chief Minister in Karnataka’s history, along with D Devaraj Urs to have completed a full-five year term (2013-18), his second stint was anything but rosy.

Entangled in a constant power struggle with his deputy D K Shivakumar, and the duo reportedly having been part of a 'power-sharing' agreement, Siddaramaiah had to eventually make way, but not before eclipsing Urs’ record as the longest-serving Chief Minister.

According to political analysts, Siddaramaiah stands out among the five as the only one who publicly admitted to having resigned at the behest of the high command.