K'taka CM race: G Parameshwara joins Shivakumar, Siddarmaiah in race. Who is he

The Congress recorded a dominant win in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election three days ago but has yet to pick between outgoing Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah and state unit boss DK Shivakumar for the chief minister's post.

The two-way 'race' between the party's most influential leaders in the state has now been made a three-horse contest with senior leader G Parameshwara declaring Tuesday he stands ready to 'take up the responsibility' should the party ask him to do so.

A former Karnataka Congress president, Parameshwara did not figure in the (very) short list of possible chief ministers - a list that has pitted DKS (as Shivakumar is known) and Siddu (as Siddaramaiah is called) - since well before the election season began in the southern state.

LIVE COVERAGE | 2023 Karnataka Assembly election and Cong's CM 'race'

Parameshwara declared the Congress leadership is well aware of his record and services to the party and, therefore, he felt no need to lobby for the chief minister's post.

"If the high command decides and asks me to run the government, I'm ready to take up the responsibility… I have faith in the party high command. I have certain principles. I can also take about 50 legislators and do the shouting but, for me, the discipline of the party is important…" he said.

READ | Who will be K'taka CM? Amid DKS-Siddu face-off new names emerge

"If people like us don't follow things, there won't be any discipline in the party. I have said that if the high command gives me the responsibility, I will take it up. I have not said I won't," he added.

"They (high command) are aware I have worked for the party… served it for eight years (as state unit boss) and brought it to power (in 2013). Also I have served as deputy chief minister. They know everything… there is nothing for us to say afresh. So I feel there is no need for me to ask for the post or lobby for it, and I'm quiet. That doesn't mean I'm (not) incapable…" Parameshwara said.

Who is G Parameshwara?

• Parameshwara is a Dalit leader who was the longest-serving state unit president - he held the post between 2010 and 2018.
• He is a five-time MLA with three wins, including this election, from the Koratagere seat and two from the Madhugiri constituency.
• In this election he defeated PR Sudhakar Lal of the Janata Dal (Secular) and the Bharatiya Janata Party's Anil Kumar to retain the Koratagere seat that he first won in 2008. He lost from the same seat in the 2013 poll.
• He was considered for the CM's post after the Congress' 2013 win but was passed over in favour of Siddaramaiah.
• After that loss he was made a member of the of the legislative council and served as a minister in the Siddaramaiah government.
• He has held multiple portfolios, including home, medical education and science and technology.
• He has a PhD in plant physiology from the Waite Agriculture Research Centre of the University of Adelaide.

The DK Shivakumar - Siddaramaiah race

The rivalry between the two has been simmering - it was contained during the election - and is now threatening to bubble over, leaving the Congress' central leadership with an increasingly familiar problem in that department.

READ | Will never backstab, blackmail: Shivakumar ahead of arrival in Delhi

How the party resolves this dilemma will be keenly watched, given elections are due in Rajasthan later this year, where ex-deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot will go head-to-head with rival and chief minister Ashok Gehlot, again.