Spectacle or unity? Theatrics of HD Kumaraswamy’s swearing-in

It was no surprise that HD Kumaraswamy won the floor test in Karnataka. After all, the Congress-JD(S) alliance, with 115 seats in a 224 Assembly, was almost certain to win. Especially because earlier in the morning Congress MLA and former lawyer, KR Ramesh defeated his BJP rival, S Suresh Kumar, to become the Speaker of the house. Ramesh is a seasoned politician, having served in the same role earlier from 1994-1999. With their man in the hot seat, toppling this government is going to be much harder for the BJP. After all, the Speaker rules on who is qualified to vote when a no-confidence motion is advanced.

Whatever the theatrics of the game of thrones in Karnataka, no one will deny one thing. HD Kumaraswamy is one extraordinarily lucky man. After his spectacular swearing-in on Wednesday, May 23, marked by the largest show of opposition leaders on one platform in recent times, it would appear that he has lived up to his pre-election boast of 29 April: “Not kingmaker, people will bless me as a king, that full confidence is there.” 

Of course, it is another matter that his party, JD (S), is far from the half-way mark of 112 seats. But with just 37 seats in his kitty, Kumaraswamy has become the Chief Minister. What is more, Kumaranna, as he is popularly known, has pulled off this improbable feat of being the “King of Karnataka” not once but twice. Twelve years back, he pulled down the Dharam Singh led Congress government by withdrawing the support of his 44 MLAs. He then became CM for 20 months from 3 February 2006 to 9 October 2007 with the support of the BJP. 

When it came to vacating the gaddi for the latter in accordance to the power-sharing formula, he brazenly betrayed the BJP, which was cheated out of its 20 months in office. But Yeddyurappa, the BJP’s CM candidate, got his sweet revenge the following year, when he led his party to victory by winning 110 seats. He went on to be the Chief Minister for two years and two months. I go into these details to underscore how murky, if not sleazy, Karnataka politics is, a Byzantine game of machination and deceit. In such an unsteady environment, can this Government deliver? More to the point, can it actually survive? 

Kumaraswamy is considered lucky in his personal life too, openly maintaining two families. He married his first wife and former MLA Anitha in 1986. They have one son, Nikhil. In 2006, he reportedly married well-known Kannada actor Radhika, though this charge of bigamy was thrown out of court for lack of evidence. They have one daughter, Shamika. Besides, he is a very successful film producer too, with one of his films, the romance drama Chandra Chakori (2003), running for a full year in cinema houses. He has also overcome health setbacks after a successful valve replacement surgery last year. 

In the current scenario, the Congress has been offered 22 ministries out of 34. They have also bagged the Deputy Chief Minister’s post, which has gone to G Parameshwara, who belongs to the SC/ST category. But here is where fault lines in the alliance have already emerged. Senior Congress leader DK Shivakumar, who is credited with keeping the flock united, is reportedly unhappy over being bypassed for the Deputy Chief ministership. He said, however, that he would convey his grievances, if any, to the High Command but that there was no cloud on the prospects of the alliance.

But the key question is how long will Kumaranna’s luck last? Given his record of political perfidy, he may also be tripped up and outmanoeuvred later if not sooner? In fact, as he himself admitted in his speech a few minutes ago, this alliance, given the history of what happened in the state is nothing short of unexpected if not ironic. There are neither ideological nor personal loyalties. Purely opportunistic and expedient, the Congress-JD (S) re-marriage may likely suffer the same fate as their earlier separation the last time they came together.

The BJP, on the other hand, acted with undue haste in allowing Yeddyurappa to swear himself in as the Chief Minister without having the support of at least 113 MLAs. In the months to come, attempts to bring the Kumaraswamy government may also not go down well in the run up of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.  Unfortunately, in Karnataka, whoever may have won this round of the political slugfest, it is the people who have lost. Kumaranna may be lucky, but the people are most unlucky. 

The author is a poet and professor at JNU. Views expressed are personal.