Siddaramaiah’s ‘Resign and Go’ Remark Shows Congress Was Not Serious About Saving Govt

An analysis of the Karnataka crisis argues that the Congress was never fully committed to saving its coalition with the JD(S), pointing to a remark by Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah captured by the Assembly microphones. At around 10pm, as coalition MLAs pressed for one more day before the trust vote and BJP members demanded it that night, a visibly irritated Siddaramaiah was heard saying, “ask him to resign and go”.

The argument

Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy and his deputy G Parameshwara were not in the House at the time. The piece says the remark lent weight to claims that the Congress had little interest in saving the government, and that many Congress leaders carried on as usual, some even relieved, after Kumaraswamy lost his majority. An unnamed senior MLC is quoted as saying the alliance had hurt the party in the old Mysore region, had benefited only the Gowdas and a few Congress leaders such as DK Shivakumar, and that most leaders had wanted it ended after the Lok Sabha defeat.

A strained alliance

According to the analysis, after the fractured verdict in the assembly election last year, the Congress high command made Siddaramaiah support a JD(S)-led government to keep the BJP out, though he was never comfortable with the Gowdas. Party workers in old Mysore were unhappy, trust was low on both sides, and Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy publicly voiced displeasure; Kumaraswamy once wept in public, saying the Congress was not letting him work. Some Congress MLAs say Siddaramaiah had promised action after the Lok Sabha results, but the poor outcome kept the partners together.

The piece says the BJP, after six failed attempts, tried again, and worried MLAs left for Mumbai. Siddaramaiah’s late effort to win them back failed, as even some close to him refused to listen, and only Shivakumar fought to the end without much support in his own party. It also argues that Rahul Gandhi’s resignation and the vacuum at the top helped the BJP.

What happened next

The Kumaraswamy-led coalition government fell in July 2019, and B. S. Yeddyurappa returned as Chief Minister of Karnataka.

See also: Congress | JD(S)

Originally published on 24 July 2019. Rewritten on 9 October 2026.

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