Siddaramaiah equals Hegde's record in presenting 13 budgets

Mysurean, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, has equalled the record of the late chief minister Ramakrishna Hegde from Uttara Kannada district, by presenting his 13th state budget, on Friday. However, he is far behind Governor Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala, who has presented 18 budgets in his state of Gujarat.

The undivided Mysuru district, which comprises Mysuru, Mandya and Chamarajanagar districts, has so far given four finance ministers to the state, who have presented a total of 29 budgets.

Siddaramaiah, who also holds the Finance portfolio, has presented the budget for the sixth time in a row as the Chief Minister. However, the budget for 2018-19, presented on Friday is not a full-fledged budget, but, a vote-on-account budget in view of the upcoming Assembly election.

7 budgets as dy CM

Earlier, he has presented seven budgets as deputy chief minister - in the Congress-JD(S) coalition government from 2005-07 and in the then JD government from 1995-2000. He has presented the budget under three chief ministers - twice under H D Deve Gowda in 1995 and 1996, three times under J H Patel in 1997, 1998 and 1999 and under N Dharam Singh in 2005 and 2006.

Siddaramaiah is also the second in Karnataka to complete the five-year term as the Chief Minister - 40 years after Devaraj Urs (1972-78) as 10 chief ministers of three different parties could not compete their full term for various reasons, political or otherwise.

The others from the region, undivided Mysuru district, who have presented a considerable number of budgets are B S Yeddyurappa, S M Krishna and T Mariappa. A native of Bookanakere, KR Pet taluk in Mandya, Yeddyurappa presented six budgets as deputy chief minister and finance minister under chief minister H D Kumaraswamy and as chief minister himself.

Krishna, a native of Somanahalli in Maddur taluk of Mandya district, presented five budgets as chief minister and finance minister. Though, he served as state minister for finance in the Union government, he did not serve as finance minister under any other CM.

Mariappa a native of Beereswarapura in Nagamangala taluk of Mandya district also presented five budgets under chief minister S Nijalingappa and B D Jatti. Though 'T' in his name stands for Tigali a village near Ooty and Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, his grandfather Marigowda migrated to Beereswarapura, then known as Kallanakere in Nagamangala taluk. Thus, natives of Mandya district, all put together have presented a total of 16 budgets, so far.