In the southern state of Karnataka (pop.63 million), incumbent Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is engaged in a very public war with Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar over a reported promise to relinquish the chief minister’s office midway after the Congress won the state legislative election of May, 2023. It is widely acknowledged that DKS was the chief strategist behind the Congress party which against all expectations and opinion poll predictions, ousted the two-term BJP government of the state.

The fact that the Congress party’s victorious strategy was majorly based on the large number of freebies (free bus rides for women, 200 units of household electricity, free rations etc) valued at over Rs.52,000 crore per year — equivalent to 20 percent of the state government’s annual revenue — is another matter, and is to a large extent the cause and effect of Bangalore’s collapsing infrastructure.

Even if it’s true — though improbable — that he didn’t make the promise to hand over the reins midway, quite clearly it’s time for Siddaramaiah to go. Because despite his proclaimed socialism, the CM is busily engaged in the worst practices of capitalism. Last month, an alert media scribe noticed that the CM tells the time from a French-made Cartier watch priced at Rs.43 lakh. Last year, he was involved neck deep in a Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) land conversion scandal during which he brazenly demanded Rs.62 crore as compensation; and recently it has come to light that since 2023, he has debited the state government of Rs.43 crore for frequently commuting between Bengaluru and Mysore/Mysuru, his constituency and also his home town, by private jet and helicopter.

Clearly, that’s a lifestyle that Karnataka suffering the after-effects of droughts and floods in the rural north and collapsing infrastructure in Bengaluru that is prompting flight of capital, can’t afford. Even if he didn’t make that promise to switch horses midstream, it’s time for the chief minister to redeem it.