Popular as ‘Kumaranna’ among the people of Karnataka the 57-year-old HD Kumaraswamy is known for his penchant for astrologers and tantriks.
Kumaraswamy’s claim to fame were his films, till he became chief minister
BANGALORE:Popular as ‘Kumaranna’ among the people of Karnataka the 57-year-old HD Kumaraswamy is known for his penchant for astrologers and tantriks.
He became the 21st chief minister of Karnataka based on a prediction by an astrologer in his hometown Haradanahalli, who had told him he would never rule the state if he did not topple the JD (S)-Congress alliance.
So, in January 2006, he herded away 40-odd young turks of JD (S) to sketch what his father calls as the ‘cursed day’ of his life.
Kumaraswamy’s village visits — Janata darshan — and waiver of loansfor sugarcane farmers made him popular among the rural population, but drew flak from the opposition.
His first brush with controversy was when Bellary MLC G Janardhan Reddy of BJP alleged his involvement in the Rs150 crore illegal iron ore export case.
The allegation of attempting to murder State Tourism Minister B Sreeramulu also proved damaging. Though he had no political experience, Kumaraswamy won the Kanakapura (Bangalore Rural District) Lok Sabha seat in 1996.
He sought re-election from Kanakapura in 1998 and lost. He tried his luck from the Sathanur assembly seat in 1999 and lost there too. The elections in 2004 saw him entering the state assembly by winning the seat from Ramanagaram.
His elder brother HD Revanna got the public works and energy ministry in the Dharam Singh ministry. An angry Kumaraswamy targeted deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah and took advantage of the discontent within the JD (S) over the Congress extending support to Siddaramaiah’s newly-formed All India Progressive Janata Dal during the recent taluk and zilla panchayat elections.
Though he claimed to be a farmer, he produced films like Suryavamsha, Premotsava, Galate Aliyendiru, Jitendra and Chandra Chakori. Kumaraswamy is married to Anita, a Computer Science engineer and has a son Nikhil Kumaraswamy.
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