Siddaramaiah’s resignation signals the decline of Karnataka’s socialist tradition and social justice politics. (Image: File) Siddaramaiah’s journey in politics is more than just the career of a run-of-the-mill Congress leader. His political roots lie in a tradition of justice that challenged the dominance of the Congress party at a crucial juncture in post independence India. This tradition talks about the equality, dignity and rights of people from all classes. Socialist politics in Karnataka was inspired by Ram Manohar Lohia at a time when socialist politics went against the control exercised by Congress High Command. The Congress elite recognised that its political dominance was embroiled with the existing hierarchy of the social and business elite. While post-Indrpendence India’s politics was shaped by Nehru’s vision, there were many alternate political ideologies which contested or challenged the Nehruvian vision of the Indian Republic. These included Gandhi’s vision of Gram Swaraj, communism, which pursued the ideology of a classless society and Hindutva which envisioned India on religious lines. There was also Ambedkar’s vision of equality for Dalits. One of the most vocal political currents was socialism, of which the Lohian variety went on to become particularly important. The socialists felt that Congress did not do enough to challenge the caste system and economic inequality. Many Dalit and socialist intellectuals believed that the Congress had been hijacked by the capitalists and by dominant caste groups in the social hierarchy. They also criticised the communists for ignoring caste inequality. In Karnataka, leaders like Siddaramaiah and JH Patel kept this socialist tradition alive, informs AS Putthige- political analyst and cheif editor of Kannada daily Vartha Bharathi. Other states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kerala and Tamil Nadu also had socialist movements. Many of these movements have become weak or have changed over time or been absorbed in larger political formations. As socialist movements became weaker, the focus of politics changed. Issues like caste inequality and fairness were replaced by nationalism and religious identity. The Congress party, which was once criticized by socialists now works within the political order whose center has shifted towards the Hindutva. “The spirit of socialist politics had died long back following neoliberal consensus around economy and the hegemony of Hindutva in polity and society” says senior writer and political analyst Shiv Sundar. And many concur, most of the good works attributed to Siddaramaiah cannot be extended to his second term in office. “In his 2nd term Siddaramaiah was a mere typical politician, and had little to do with the socialist values he used to champion once upon a time. He had almost forgotten the Ahinda movement. He was totally indifferent towards the promises made in the manifesto and the commitments that had played a great role in bringing him back to power. This had lead to disappointment in his traditional support base”, says Putthige. While the Congress makes gestures towards economic and social justice, it has not rebuilt a coherent politics around these ideas that can effectively contest the new political space. Hence, in that sense, Siddaramaih’s resignation as Chief Minister is not a personal or election-related issue. It marks the end of an era in Karnataka and the decline of socialist politics in India. Some states, like Tamil Nadu and Kerala still remain as vestiges of these movements. “Resignation of Siddaramaiah marks the end of empty and hypocritical utterances of even the letter of socialism” opines Shiv Sundar.