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Siddaramaiah announces retirement from electoral politics, won’t contest 2028 polls
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has announced he will not contest the 2028 Assembly elections, citing age and health, but said he will remain active in politics.
Former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah (File photo)
Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Sunday announced his retirement from electoral politics, while promising to remain active in politics.
“Since the political field is polluted, I will not contest in the 2028 Assembly elections. However, I will remain in active politics and be a voice for the people’s problems,” he said at a private event held at KR Pet, Mandya.
Reiterating the decision in a post on X, he said that he was under pressure from voters of Varuna constituency in Mysuru district to contest polls again. “But I have decided not to contest any elections in the future. Earlier, people used to give us money to contest and win elections. Such a situation is no more,” he rued.
Noting that he was 79 years old, he said that by the time the term of the current Congress government ends, he would be 82. “My health will not remain as strong as it is now. I cannot work with the same enthusiasm I had earlier,” Siddaramaiah said in the post.
Siddaramaiah was the chief minister until June this year, before being replaced by D K Shivakumar. He is the longest-serving CM in the history of the state, having surpassed the record set by Devaraj Urs in the 1970s.
Hailing from a Kuruba family, Siddaramaiah started his political career in the Janata Dal. After the party split, he joined Janata Dal (Secular) under H D Deve Gowda. He rebelled from the JD(S) and joined the Congress in 2006.
Siddaramaiah is also the first CM to complete a five-year term in Karnataka this century, during his first term between 2013-18.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
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