One of the biggest strengths that carried Siddaramaiah so far in the Congress in spite of his being the classic “outsider” who joined the party only in 2006 is his determined push for the social alliance Ahinda to win the trust of the oppressed classes.
Ahinda is Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes, Dalits and Adivasis.
It was Siddaramaiah’s belief in the Ahinda movement — launched in the early 1970s by Congress leader and former chief minister Devraj Urs — that set him apart in the Janata Parivar and the Congress.
It’s no surprise that the cheers from the gatherings at political rallies across the state are loudest when the name of Siddaramaiah, who was formerly with the Janata Dal Secular, is announced. Unlike his principal challenger to the chief minister’s post and Vokkaliga strongman D.K. Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah is not identified with any one community.
Though a Kuruba (OBC), Siddaramaiah has transcended that label with his Ahinda push even before he became the chief minister in 2013, almost by default since the then state Congress president G. Parameshwara lost and was hence out of the race for the top job.
Many in the Congress and sections of the local media had then written Siddaramaiah off and predicted that he wouldn’t last for six months.
However, Siddaramaiah not only became the first chief minister to complete his term in 40 years after Urs but also set several benchmarks with his social welfare programmes, ranging from free rice to the poor to helping poor girls from minority communities get married.
A true-blue socialist and rationalist, Siddaramaiah rose from very humble beginnings to graduate in science and acquire a law degree before taking the plunge as a full-time politician.
A Congress functionary, who had worked closely with Siddaramaiah for several years, told The Telegraph that the party needs both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for different reasons.
“Siddaramaiah’s policies have been a massive hit among the poor who once again look upon him to roll out those programmes. But Shivakumar is a very efficient party organiser who can lead the Congress to the Lok Sabha polls and ensure we win a good number of seats,” said the leader, who declined to be named as he could be a candidate in the Parliament elections.
The pro-poor schemes Siddaramaiah launched include Anna Bhagya, which gave 7kg of free rice to individuals from BPL families apart from heavily subsidised essential commodities; Shaadi Bhagya, which provided a one-time Rs 50,000 marriage allowance to girls from minority communities holding BPL ration cards; and Khsheera Bhagya that provided free milk to students in government schools and Anganwadis.
When the BJP came to power by destabilising the Janata Dal Secular-Congress coalition in 2019, it reduced the free rice to 5kg and junked the Shaadi Bhagya scheme altogether.
The party functionary said that Siddaramaiah is the right man to implement the Congress promises, including the five guarantees laid out in the party manifesto.
The Congress has promised 200 free units of power to each household every month under the Gruha Jyothi scheme; 10kg of free rice a month for every member of BPL families under the Anna Bhagya scheme; Rs 2,000 to every woman head of BPL families each month under the Gruha Lakshmi scheme; free rides for women on state-transport buses under the Uchita Prayana scheme; and the Yuva Nidhi scheme that offers Rs 3,000 to graduates and Rs 1,500 to diploma holders every month for two years or until they find employment, whichever is earlier.
Rahul Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge have repeatedlypromised that the first cabinet meeting would issue orders for the five guarantees. All Congress candidates had signed a pledge to implement the guarantees and it was released in the form of media advertisements a day before the May 10 elections.
