Ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections, scheduled for May 10, all eyes are on the political biggies of the state. HD Kumaraswamy’s name often finds a mention among the most influential people of the state. Kumaraswamy, who is also referred to by his initials HDK, is from the JD(S) and is longing to bring his party back to power this time. Here, we present a precise political profile of HD Kumaraswamy.
HDK is the son of former Prime Minister and JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda. His brother HD Revanna is a former minister and MLA from Holenarasipur. Both his wife and son are politicians too. HD Kumaraswamy was born on December 16, 1959, in Haradanahalli village of Hassan district. He completed his BSc from National College, Jayanagar, Bengaluru and then ventured into film distribution. He got married to Anitha Kumaraswamy in 1986.
After making profits distributing Kannada films, HDK decided to establish his own production company and founded Channambika Films. He produced many films under this banner. Soon, he followed his father’s footsteps into politics. His political debut was through the Lok Sabha elections in 1996 where he contested from Bangalore Rural constituency and was elected.
HDK ran unsuccessfully from the Kanakapura constituency for the Lok Sabha in 1998. He ran again from the then-Satanur Assembly Constituency in 1999 but lost again. He ran for the Legislative Assembly in 2004 from the Ramnagar Constituency, becoming an MLA for the first time.
HDK formed an alliance government with BJP without the approval of Father Deve Gowda and from 2006 to 2007, served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka for the first time. HDK was the Chief Ministerial candidate of JD(S) in the 2018 Karnataka state elections.
In this election, he contested from Ramanagara and Channapatnam. JDS won 38 seats in the elections. Later he formed a government in alliance with Congress. He was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on May 23, 2018.
The Janata Darshan initiative, started by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, gained popularity because of HDK. People first found it challenging to bring up their issues with the CM. Through Janata Darshan, he provided the people of Karnataka with a platform to voice their complaints to those in power. Since it was difficult for people living in rural areas to travel to Bangalore to meet the CM, he then relocated to the village himself. He put into practice the concept of visiting individuals in their homes by staying in the village.
HD Kumaraswamy’s name also featured in numerous scandals. In Karnataka, he was accused of supporting illegal mining businesses. He was charged with granting mining permits to these businesses in exchange for payments. Following the release of the Lokayukta report, the scandal and accusations of Kumaraswamy’s involvement in corruption surfaced. In 2011, there was an allegation that Kumaraswamy was involved in a land scam in Bangalore. It is alleged that they have acquired government land meant for the poor and sold it to a real estate firm at a huge price. He was also accused of converting agricultural land into residential land in violation of rules for acquisition.
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