Incumbent Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah on Sunday gave his strongest indication yet that he was cognisant of the notion that he may have to step aside as chief ministerial candidate even if his party is part of a ruling coalition in the state.

After telling reporters that this election would be his last, he added, "I have no issues. If the high command says they want to appoint a Dalit as chief minister, I will say go ahead. I am not opposed to anybody."

It's worth noting at this point that in the 66 years since the formation of the first Assembly in then Mysore State, there have largely been Vokkaliga and Lingayat chief ministers at the helm, but never one who was a Dalit.

Here's a table to put Siddaramaiah's statement into perspective:

State Assembly Name Party Caste
Mysore First Kengal Hanumanthaiah Congress Vokkaliga
Mysore First Kadidal Manjappa Congress Vokkaliga
Mysore First/Second Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa Congress Vokkaliga
Mysore Second Basappa Danappa Jatti Congress Lingayat
Mysore Third Shivalingappa Rudrappa Kanthi Congress Lingayat
Mysore Third/Fourth Siddavanahalli Nijalingappa Congress Vokkaliga
Mysore Fourth Veerendra Patil Congress (O) Lingayat
Karnataka Fifth D Devaraj Urs Congress Arasu
Karnataka Sixth D Devaraj Urs Congress Arasu
Karnataka Sixth R Gundu Rao Congress Brahmin
Karnataka Seventh Ramakrishna Hegde Janata Party Brahmin
Karnataka Eighth Ramakrishna Hegde Janata Party Brahmin
Karnataka Eighth Somappa Rayappa Bommai Janata Party Lingayat
Karnataka Ninth Veerendra Patil Congress (O) Lingayat
Karnataka Ninth Sarekoppa Bangarappa Congress Ediga
Karnataka Ninth M Veerappa Moily Congress Devadiga
Karnataka Tenth HD Deve Gowda Janata Dal Vokkaliga
Karnataka Tenth Jayadevappa Halappa Patel Janata Dal Lingayat
Karnataka Eleventh Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna Congress Vokkaliga
Karnataka Twelfth N Dharam Singh Congress Rajput
Karnataka Twelfth HD Kumaraswamy Janata Dal (S) Vokkaliga
Karnataka Twelfth BS Yeddyurappa BJP Lingayat
Karnataka Thirteenth BS Yeddyurappa BJP Lingayat
Karnataka Thirteenth DV Sadananda Gowda BJP Vokkaliga
Karnataka Thirteenth Jagadish Shettar BJP Lingayat
Karnataka Fourteenth Siddaramaiah Congress Kuruba


Updated Date: May 14, 2018 12:29 PM