Siddaramaiah, the new Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka, is cast in the mould of 'Mr Straightforward'. Over the years, he has emerged as one of the prominent backward class leaders of the state.

Siddaramaiah was twice close to the seat of chief minister but was forced to forsake it under political compulsions.

The 56-year-old leader, who hails from the Kuruba community and was born into a poor farmer's family, missed his primary schooling due to abject poverty.

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A man of strong resolution, Siddaramaiah not only graduated but later turned a law teacher.

Attracted to politics by the socialist movement, Siddaramaiah's rise on the state's political horizon has been phenomenal.

The Janata Parivar leader, who never compromised on his political ideology, came close to occupying the chief minister's post in 1996 after H D Deve Gowda was elevated to the post of prime minister.

Political compulsions forced him to accept the deputy chief minister's post to accommodate J H Patel, a senior leader hailing from the dominant Lingayat community.