H. D. Kumaraswamy

Some Lesser Known Facts About H. D. Kumaraswamy

• He grew up in a big family, with 5 siblings, 3 brothers and two sisters.

  

• During his school day, notorious Kumaraswamy would bunk classes to watch films, engage in quarrels with the teachers, and listen to cricket commentary and film songs sitting on the back bench. He talked about the same in an interview and said,
  

  I used to create mayhem at home, hitting the walls, banging the doors, only to make my mother give me some money to buy cinema tickets.”

• Poor in studies, he failed a pre-university course at Vijaya College. Recalling the same in an interview, he said,
  

  I was an average student in school, and gave my parents trouble by scoring low marks. I failed in PUC. I also used to get into scraps in college.”

• His sister Anusuya is married to Dr C.N. Manjunath, who works as a cardiologist at Shri Jayadeva Institute of Cardiology. His sister Shylaja is married to Dr Chandra Shekhar, who is an orthopaedic surgeon.

• In 1986, he got married to a chemical engineering graduate named Anitha. After marriage, she remained a homemaker till 2013 when she contested and lost the Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency in bye-elections.

• In an interview, Kumaraswamy revealed that Anitha did not support his decision to pursue a career in politics. ^[20]Bangalore Mirror While talking about the same he said,
  

  She said she would marry me only if I didn’t enter politics. However, over the years, she has realised my commitment to my people, and now she completely believes in me.”

• He started his political journey as a member of the Janata Dal party when he was elected as MP from Kanakapura in 1996. The general elections resulted in Janata Dal reaching its pinnacle as H. D. Deve Gowda became the prime minister of India, heading the United Front (UF) coalition government. In 1999, the splinter party Janata Dal (Secular) was formed under H. D. Deve Gowda and Siddaramaiah when a faction led by Chief Minister J. H. Patel lent its support to the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Thereafter, Kumaraswamy became a member of JD(S).

  

• He won the Ramanagara assembly seat in 2004. Meanwhile, no party won enough seats to form a government in Karnataka in 2004, resulting in a hung assembly. Consequently, the INC with 65 members and JD(S) with 58 members joined hands to form a coalition government with Dharam Singh as the chief minister. Tables turned in early 2006 when JD(S) withdrew its support from the coalition and forged an alliance with the BJP. The new government positioned H. D. Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister and BJP’s B. S. Yeddyurappa as Deputy Chief Minister.

  

• As CM, he held the portfolios of the Home Department, Department Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Cabinet Affairs, Intelligence, Urban Development, and Other departments not allocated to any Minister.

• During his tenure as the Chief Minister, Karnataka’s GDP recorded an all-time high and he became popular as the People’s CM.

• Obeying the power-sharing accord with BJP, Kumaraswamy made an announcement in September 2007 that he would step down as CM on October 3, but legislators of the coalition partners asked him not to decide on quitting in haste and to take them into confidence on the issue first. The Power games in Karnataka led to the imposition of President’s Rule in the state on the recommendation of Governor Rameshwar Thakur after Kumaraswamy’s resignation on 8 October 2007.

• He underwent open heart surgery in December 2007.

• Later, JD(S) lent its support to the BJP and B. S. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the CM of Karnataka on 12 November 2007, but soon, Kumaraswamy withdrew its support from the BJP government over a disagreement on sharing of ministries, leading to Yeddyurappa’s resignation from the post of CM on 19 November 2007.

• Kumaraswamy’s second marriage Radhika became public in November 2010 when she selectively released her pictures with him and their baby girl. Sources close to Kumaraswamy claimed that releasing photographs was nothing but Radhika’s attempt to ensure her status in society if something went wrong in future. Sources were sceptical that maybe all is not well between the actress and Kumaraswamy. ^[21]The New Indian Express Previously, Radhika was married to Ratan Kumar, who died in August 2002 following a heart attack.

• Kumaraswamy tried to resign from the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly in August 2013, but the Janata Dal (Secular) Legislative Party (JDLP) did not accept his resignation.

• He took over as the Karnataka JD(S) president in 2014 after the passing away of Merajuddin Patel.

• He went through a valve replacement surgery in 2017. Apart from that, he is also diabetic.

• In 2018, he was elected from two assembly constituencies, Ramanagara and Channapatna, defeating BJP candidate C. P. Yogeshwar. He vacated the Ramanagara seat, which was won by his wife, Anitha Kumaraswamy, in the bye-elections.

• When the 2018 assembly elections resulted in a hung assembly, INC and JD(S) formed a coalition government with HD Kumaraswamy as Chief Minister.
  

  

  Thereafter, Kumaraswamy became incharge of 11 portfolios and departments which were the Department of Cabinet Affairs, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms, Department of Finance (including Excise, Institutional Finance and Small Savings & Lotteries), Intelligence wing from Home Department, Information & Public Relations from Kannada and Culture (Information and Public Relation Department), Planning and Statistics Department, Energy Department, Department of Public Enterprises, Infrastructure Development Department, Textiles from Commerce and Industries Department, and the ones which was not assigned to anybody.

  

• This coalition government formed in 2018 lasted for 14 months before 16 legislators from the coalition resigned within a span of 2 days and 2 independent MLAs switched their support to BJP. On 23 July 2019, Kumarasamy lost the trust vote by 100–107 in the house and resigned from the post of CM.

  

• Kumaraswamy also runs a family-owned cinema hall and a petrol pump along with his three brothers. Via Chennambika Films, Kumaraswamy has produced several successful Kannada films including Chandra Chakori, which was a huge hit, with 365 day-run in theatres.

  

• A huge fan of Kannada actor thespian Rajkumar, Kumaraswamy used to wear clothes like Rajkumar wore in his films.

• In April 2024, his brother Prajwal Revanna was booked in a sex scandal reportedly involving several women. A woman complainant also named his father, HD Revanna, as an accused. Three days before the Lok Sabha polls in Hassan on 26 April 2024, Sex video clips, allegedly involving Prajwal Revanna, surfaced on social media. Later, the state government formed an SIT to investigate the matter. After an FIR was filed against him, he reportedly fled the country and moved to Germany. While distancing himself and the party from the matter, HD Kumaraswamy said that he and HD Deve Gowda never disrespected any woman. ^[22]The Indian Express