From sprinting on the athletics track to pursuing agricultural research in Australia and eventually navigating through the tumultuous Karnataka politics, G Parameshwara’s story is one of perseverance, scholarship and public service.
A trusted organisational hand of the Congress and one of its most prominent Dalit faces in Karnataka, Parameshwara, on Wednesday returned to the post of Deputy Chief Minister, marking yet another milestone in a political career spanning more than three decades.
The 74-year-old leader, who has spent years strengthening the Congress party’s grassroots network in Karnataka, has long been regarded as one of the party’s most disciplined and dependable administrators.
His elevation as Deputy Chief Minister in the D K Shivakumar-led government is widely seen as recognition of his enduring contribution to the organisation and governance.
An efficient leader
Parameshwara’s organisational prowess is perhaps best reflected in his record as the longest-serving president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), a position he held from October 27, 2010, to July 4, 2018.
Under his stewardship, the Congress registered a resounding victory in the 2013 Assembly elections, returning to power in Karnataka with a comfortable majority after a decade in the opposition.
Although the party fell short of a majority in the 2018 Assembly polls, it successfully stitched together a coalition government with the JD(S), paving the way for Parameshwara’s first stint as Deputy Chief Minister in the H D Kumaraswamy-led administration.
When the Congress returned to power in 2023 under Siddaramaiah’s leadership, Parameshwara was entrusted with the crucial Home portfolio.
Born on August 6, 1951, at Gollahalli village, now known as Siddharth Nagar in Tumakuru district, to Gangamalamma Chikkanna and former MLC H M Gangadharaiah, Parameshwara’s early years were rooted in rural Karnataka.
He received his primary education in a government school in Gollahalli before completing his secondary education at Siddhartha High School.
An athlete during his student days, Parameshwara competed at both state and national levels. Despite having an opportunity to pursue higher sporting ambitions, he chose academics over athletics. His academic journey led him to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru, where he earned both his BSc and MSc degrees in Agriculture.
He later obtained a PhD from the Waite Agricultural Research Centre at the University of Adelaide in Australia, establishing himself as an accomplished agricultural scientist before entering public life.
Remarkable record
According to Congress sources, Parameshwara was persuaded to join politics by then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and made his debut in electoral politics in 1989 by fighting the Assembly election from the Madhugiri constituency on a Congress ticket.
Over the years, he emerged as one of the party’s most successful electoral leaders in the state.
Except for a lone defeat in the 2013 Assembly election, Parameshwara has enjoyed a remarkable electoral record, representing both Madhugiri and Koratagere Assembly constituencies three times each.
Beyond politics, Parameshwara remains closely associated with educational and social initiatives. He married Kannika Parameshwari in 1982, and the couple has a daughter, Shana Parameshwari.
With a career that has traversed athletics, academia and public life, Parameshwara’s return to the Deputy Chief Minister’s office adds another chapter to the journey of the leader.
Published on June 3, 2026
