A file photo of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge flanked by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar in Bengaluru.
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The Congress government in Karnataka touches the two-year landmark on Tuesday (May 2019, 2025). During the two years, the government, led by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, on its journey on the track of the social welfare agenda, received bouquets, but saw many controversies too.

To mark the day, the party and the government have decided to hold a ‘Sadhana Samavesha’ (rally to highlight achievements) at Hosapete in the newly carved Vijayanagara district on May 20. The event is being seen as the “guarantee rally” as the government has spent a whopping ₹80,000 crore on the five guarantee schemes.

Record number of Budgets

Mr. Siddaramaiah, who presented a record 16th State Budget in March 2025, will complete seven years as Chief Minister. He is hoping to break the record of D. Devaraj Urs, who held the post for the longest time (2,790 days or seven years and seven months) in Karnataka.

Unlike his first term as the Chief Minister, Mr. Siddaramaiah’s second term has been constantly under the vigilance of the party high command — be it holding rallies, dinner meetings of some Ministers or his remarks on India’s strikes against Pakistan after the killing of 26 tourists at Pahalgam.

Mr. Siddaramaiah was seen visiting the national capital several times during the last two years, apparently to provide explanations to the party high command on several issues, including on his role in the alleged illegal allotment of 14 sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority to his wife, B.M. Parvathi, (now the sites have been surrendered). It will not be an exaggeration to say that he was working with the guidance of the party’s central leaders, particularly AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.

Mixed bag in polls

The two years of governance have been marked by both positives and negatives. Though the party did not secure the number of seats it had hoped for in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the State, it improved its tally from one seat in 2019 to nine in 2024. It managed to win the byelections held for the three Legislative Assembly seats. The Chief Minister credited the guarantee schemes for the party’s victory.

Besides conducting the Global Investors’ Meet – 2025, the government also held the centenary celebrations of the 1924 Indian National Congress session presided over by Mahatma Gandhi, in Belagavi, to show that all is well in the party.

However, given the fiscal burden of funding the five guarantee schemes, the government kept on increasing taxes and prices of several essentials, including fuel, motor vehicle registration, and liquor. The Opposition BJP and JD(S) continued to raise the issue of price rise, while the Congress continued to blame the Centre for it.

The government, which criticised the previous BJP regime for the lack of its commitment to decentralisation of powers, has not been able to hold elections to rural local and urban local bodies, including in Bengaluru city. Like the previous BJP regime, the Congress government was also dogged by charges of corruption.

Karnataka model

The Chief Minister, who often spoke of the “Karnataka model of development” with a focus on the guarantees and how they have helped the poor amid price rise, was also seen hitting national headlines for the wrong reasons. For instance, the political storm that erupted in the Legislative Assembly, following Cooperation Minister K.N. Rajanna’s allegation that vested interests had honey-trapped 48 people, appears to have not gone down well in the party.

While Mr. Siddaramaiah’s loyalists often issued statements that he would complete a full term of five years, Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC chief D.K. Shivakumar has made his ambition clear before the party high command. With many seniors nursing their ambition to become Ministers, the path ahead may not be smooth.