Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is a worried man these days.
The failed monsoon has led to the Cauvery crisis, triggering the worst situation in over two decades. Besides being the deputy chief minister, Shivakumar is also the water resources and Bengaluru development minister. He is also the Karnataka state Congress president.
The man who wears multiple hats has more than one reason to be worried about the Cauvery river water crisis. As water resources minister, he must ensure that the interests of the state are protected in a distress year.
Failure of monsoon is a natural calamity and there is nothing much Shivakumar can do. However, he has a bigger challenge to face in the political field. Shivakumar hails from the Cauvery belt in the old Mysore region and the Gowda clan, which was decimated in the May assembly elections, is trying to exploit the current water crisis to revive the moribund party. The BJP and JDS are also planning to fight the coming Lok Sabha elections together. Alarmed by these developments, Shivakumar is holding a series of discussions to retain his hold over the most important Cauvery belt.
After the big win in the assembly elections, Shivakumar was hoping for a bountiful monsoon since he got the most lucrative water resources and Bengaluru development portfolios after a big fight with chief minister Siddaramaiah.
The failed monsoon, however, has made his portfolios a big burden and any water scarcity will make him look bad in the eyes of farmers and residents of Bengaluru. His detractors in the Congress might also try to use it against him.
Shivakumar can very well escape from it using “collective responsibility” of the government as an excuse. But he can’t do the same when it comes to old Mysore politics.
Interestingly, both Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar are from the same region and under their leadership, the Congress literally swept the area in the assembly polls. The Vokkaligas, the dominant caste, seemed to have ditched the Gowdas to shift their allegiance to rising star Shivakumar. He wanted to keep the momentum till the Parliament elections and deliver yet another death blow to the JDS.
However, the current Cauvery crisis has dashed his hopes and the wily Gowdas are making a serious effort to regain lost ground.
Cauvery has always been an emotive issue for people of both old Mysore and lower riparian Tamil Nadu. No logic has ever worked in the past and it is easy for political parties to take on governments using the Cauvery card.
Since there is not much water in the reservoir to irrigate the paddy and sugarcane fields, the farmers of the region will naturally be upset with the government. If the Karnataka government releases more water to Tamil Nadu, tensions will rise and Shivakumar will come under fire.
The prevailing situation has halted his victory march across the region, giving hope to JDS. The BJP, which has suffered a humiliating defeat in the region, will most likely fight the Lok Sabha elections with JDS. The combine will surely blame Shivakumar for the situation or lack of leadership.
Since Shivakumar can’t control the monsoon, there is nothing he can do. Will he be able to handle the political fallout of a failed monsoon? One must wait till the next summer to know the answer.
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