In Karnataka elections, losers don't always fade away: A look at CMs over 30 years

By Ramakrishna Upadhya

What was the common destiny shared by SR Bommai, S Bangarappa, M Veerappa Moily, SM Krishna and HD Deve Gowda – all familiar names in Indian politics – that has turned into a political ‘curse’ over the last three decades?

All of them occupied the Karnataka chief minister’s chair after long political innings lasting three to four decades, but none could enjoy a full term of five years nor get the second chance they so coveted.

In fact, there were a total of 12 chief ministers since 1988 (when Ramakrishna Hegde stepped down) who suffered the same fate. In this category, a minor exception was BS Yeddyurappa who had two terms of 7 days and 3 years, 62 days.

So, all eyes are glued on the present chief minister Siddaramaiah as to whether he will break the jinx and get a second successive term. He has already broken the myth of losing power soon after visiting Chamarajanagar district – which several chief ministers, including SM Krishna, scrupulously avoided – by making more than a dozen visits.

Siddaramaiah is well on the way to completing his full five-year term before facing the assembly elections due on May 12.

But it is certainly not the case that all those who had their terms as chief ministers cut short went into oblivion. Politics being such an unpredictable game of pot-luck, Deve Gowda later became the prime minister of the country and SM Krishna, the governor of Maharashtra and the Union external affairs minister.

Here’s a brief flashback on all Karnataka CMs since RK Hegde’s exit:

Bommai (1988-89: 281 days):  Dismissal of his government in 1989 without affording him a chance to take a floor test resulted in a landmark Supreme Court judgment. He went on to become the national president of Janata Dal from 1990 to 1996 and briefly, a Union minister in the United Front government.

Veerendra Patil (1989-90: 314 days): This was Veerendra Patil’s second innings as chief minister, after leading Congress as KPCC chief to a massive victory with a record 181 seats. He had returned to the post after 18 years, serving for the first time during 1968-71. But less than one year into office, fate intervened in the form of massive paralysis, and the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi infamously dismissed his government, talking to the media at Bangalore airport.

S Bangarappa (1990-92: 2 years, 33 days): One of the most colourful and popular politicians Karnataka has seen, he got elected to assembly seven times and four times to the Lok Sabha, each time from a different political party, including Samajwadi Party. After Narasimha Rao unseated him as chief minister on corruption charges, he changed many parties but could never regain his political clout.

Veerappa Moily: (1992-94: 2 years, 22 days): During the days of the ‘sealed envelope’ coming from the High Command, Moily pipped the more popular SM Krishna to the post, thanks to his mentor K Karunakaran. After Moily’s term ended, Congress hit its nadir in Karnataka winning only 39 seats. But, thanks to the benevolent party, he later not only became an MP, but a Union minister in UPA government.

Deve Gowda (1994-96: 1 year, 172 days): When Deve Gowda finally achieved his ambition of becoming chief minister in 1994, he would never have dreamt that something bigger awaited him. Just 17 months later, a campaign spearheaded by Ramakrishna Hegde won 16 Lok Sabha seats for Janata Dal, but destiny beckoned Deve Gowda to become prime minister, though he remained in office only for 11 months.

JH Patel (1996-99: 3 years, 129 days): A quintessential politician who publicly acknowledged his love for wine and women, he had to weather turbulent times in Janata Dal, after Hegde and Gowda fell apart. His Lingayat credentials helped him to hold on to his chair till the elections in 1999, which he lost, and died a year later.

SM Krishna (1999-04: 4 years, 230 days): The Oxford-educated Krishna brought sophistication to administration and also restored investors’ faith in Bengaluru. He would have easily completed a full term, until a little bird told him to go for simultaneous polls with Lok Sabha in 2004, and the Congress party lost miserably. But that did not end his political career.

Dharam Singh (2004-06: 1 year, 245 days): First chief minister of a  coalition government in Karnataka, he tried to provide a good administration amidst all the pinpricks from Deve Gowda, de facto leader of coalition partner JD(S). The amiable Dharam Singh did not lose his smile even when Gowda pulled the rug from under his feet to install Kumaraswamy, his son, as chief minister.

HD Kumaraswamy: 2006-07: 1 year, 253 days): Being the first-time MLA from Ramanagara, Kumaraswamy, during his short stint, showed that politics was very much in his genes when he ran a coalition government with the BJP. But his failure to hand over power to Yeddyurappa at the end of 20 months as per an agreement gave him the tag of a ‘betrayer,’ which he is still struggling to shed.

BS Yeddyurappa (2007-11: two terms of 3 years, 69 days in all): Yeddyurappa promised much, but delivered little, as he was embroiled in one controversy after another and he was dogged by dissidents in his own party. BJP’s southern hopes have risen and fallen with BSY, and ironically, even in 2018, the situation remains the same.

DV Sadananda Gowda (2011-12: 343 days): A perfect model for ‘Colgate’ with his permanent smile, Sadananda (which, appropriately, means ‘ever happy’) could barely settle down when he was ousted by internal bickering in the party. But he has won three Lok Sabha terms from three different constituencies and currently is the Union minister for statistics in the Modi government.

Jagadish Shettar (2012-13: 304 days): A former president of BJP, before he could take control of the party or the government, elections were upon him. He saw the BJP’s strength slide from 110 to 40 seats and handed back power to the Congress.

Siddaramaiah (May 13, 2013……): A protégé of Ramakrishna Hegde, he later turned to Deve Gowda and turned against Gowda in 2006 when he realised that the Gowda family was merely using him. He campaigned hard and almost single-handedly brought Congress to power in 2013 and became the chief minister. He has taken firm grip of the party; he is looked upon as the master strategist who can win 2018 elections as well.

(The author is a senior journalist based in Bengaluru)

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