The Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in Karnataka will complete two years in office on May 20. Even as the ruling party prepares for the 'Sadhana Samavesha' at Hosapete in Vijayanagar district, the journey fuelled by the five guarantees has not been a bed of roses.
The implementation of the five flagship programmes (guarantee schemes) has surely given a success template to the party, which has been replicated in Telangana. However, the period has also been a witness to political tensions, owing to allegations of corruption against the chief minister and some other ministers.
Amid criticism of the guarantee schemes as “freebies” that had burdened the exchequer and deprived even the ruling party MLAs, leaving them with little development funds, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah—who tabled his 16th State Budget (an outlay of ₹4.09 lakh crores) on March 8—this year called the guarantee schemes “inclusive” and based on the concept of “Universal Basic Income”.
In that regard, he allocated ₹51,034 crores for the five schemes.
This year, an allocation of ₹28,608 has been made for 1.22 crore beneficiaries under the ‘Grihalakshmi’ scheme (monthly assistance of ₹2000 to woman heads of the family), ₹10,100 crores for ‘Griha Jyoti’ (free electricity up to 200 units for 1.62 crore registered consumers), ₹5,300 crore for ‘Shakthi’ (free bus travel for women) and ₹286 crore for ‘Yuva Nidhi’ (unemployment benefits) to 2.58 lakh youths registered under the scheme.
The financial assistance was being given in lieu of an additional five kilograms of rice to 4.21 crore beneficiaries under the 'Anna Bhagya' (free rice scheme). This year, five more kilograms of rice will be provided, making it 10 kilograms of free rice per person.
Ironically, the rising cost of living, accompanied by constant price hike cycles—be it bus fares, metro fares, prices of milk, water or fuel, power tariffs, property taxes and stamp duty—have negated any positive impact of the guarantee schemes.
Also, the inordinate delay in the direct benefit transfer process under the guarantee schemes as well as the ‘rationalisation’ efforts to weed out ineligible beneficiaries, has led to disillusionment among the Congress voters.
Opposition parties have questioned the “financial prudence” of the ruling party, citing the lack of funds for basic infrastructure projects.
Last October, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) accused the government and contractors of misuse of the ₹7,300 crore allocated for fixing potholes, even as the civic body drew wrath from the citizens for pothole-ridden roads. In September 2024, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar promised to fill all potholes in 15 days, but over 1,200 potholes remained unaddressed beyond the deadline.
Over the past two years, the Congress-led government in Karnataka has faced multiple allegations of corruption involving ministers, MLAs, and even Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.
In the MUDA land allotment scam, allegations of corruption surfaced against Siddaramaiah's wife, Parvathi, according to which she was accused of buying 14 high-value plots from the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) as compensatory plots for a 3.2-acre land parcel allegedly gifted to her by her brother.
The Lokayukta police registered an FIR against Siddaramaiah for this, following a special court's directive.
Scheduled Tribes (ST) welfare minister B. Nagendra resigned, following allegations of corruption as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) identified B. Nagendra as the mastermind behind a ₹187 crore scam involving the Karnataka Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.
Funds were allegedly siphoned off and misused for election campaigns and personal expenses. The scam came to light following the suicide of a corporation employee. Governor Thaawarchand Gehlot sanctioned Nagendra's prosecution, and he was subsequently arrested and later granted bail.
The Karnataka BJP has also accused the Congress government of a ₹700 crore liquor scam, alleging that CL7 bar licenses had been issued in exchange for bribes ranging from ₹30 lakhs to ₹70 lakhs. The Wine Merchants’ Association also accused Excise Minister R.B. Thimmapur of unethical practices and extortion.
The Karnataka State Contractors Association (KSCA) alleged that bribes for awarding government contracts had increased to 50% under the current Congress government, up from the alleged 40% during the previous BJP administration. The association has named several ministers including the DCM.
The Socio-Economic and Educational Survey (2015) conducted by the State Backward Classes Commission, which gathered data on caste, education, income, and employment across 10.6 million households in the state, has been challenged by the opposition parties, who claim the survey is “unscientific and incomplete”.
The state government has defended the survey’s purpose as addressing social disparities, though opposition parties, certain Congress MLAs and ministers of politically dominant communities have called for a re-survey. The state cabinet has deferred discussion on the survey, fearing a backlash from communities like Lingayats and Vokkaligas, who claim to be under-represented.
The Congress government has had frequent run-ins with the Governor over some crucial Bills, including the one meant to curtail the Governor's power as the Chancellor, and is entangled in a debate over the Centre’s “betrayal” of Karnataka, by reducing its share of devolution.
Siddaramaiah blames the shrinking revenue stream, the Centre’s “failure” to fairly compensate the state for the GST revenue loss, non-devolution of cesses and surcharges, and lower tax devolution in the 15th Finance Commission.
“Despite Karnataka contributing ₹4 lakh crores to the gross tax revenue of the Centre every year, the state gets only ₹ 45,000 crore as devolution and ₹15,000 crores as grant-in-aid. This means, for every rupee Karnataka contributes, only ₹15 paise is returned to the state. The 15th Finance Commission’s award reduced Karnataka’s share sharply leading to a total loss of ₹79,770 crores. The loss to Karnataka on account of the non-sharing of cess and surcharge is ₹53,359 crore during the period 2017-18 to 2024-25,” said Siddaramaiah.
This argument is diluted by Congress veteran Basavaraj Rayareddi, who is also the economic advisor to the chief minister. Rayareddi has, on several occasions, admitted that the financial strain was due to the “massive” welfare expenditure of ₹90,000 crores, which includes the five guarantee schemes and other subsidies.
Finally, the “secret” power-sharing agreement—allegedly brokered by the Congress high command between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Congress president and deputy chief minister D.K. Shivakumar after the 2023 Assembly polls, is what has kept the power tussle between the two tallest leaders in the party going.
While Siddaramaiah has frequently declared that he would complete a full term of five years, Shivakumar has made his ambition and the “promise” by the party high command be known loud and clear.
