The Bengaluru to Mysuru padayatra by the BJP-JD(S) combine, seeking the resignation of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah over the alleged out-of-turn allocation of sites by the Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to his wife, is turning into a battle for supremacy in the Vokkaliga heartland between Janata Dal (Secular) leader and union heavy industries and steel minister HD Kumaraswamy and state Congress president and deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar.
The statements, counterstatements, threats, and counterthreats between the two leaders have reached such a level that they are addressing each other in singular terms, with the verbal clash sometimes descending to below-the-belt attacks—something that has not occurred in Karnataka with such frequency before.
“You have 25 scams in your name,” said Shivakumar, addressing Kumaraswamy directly.
“There are so many scams—ones related to the Bhovis, Yediyurappa, the PSI recruitment scam, the bitcoin scam, and mining scams. You are Mr Clean Swamy, Mr Kumaraswamy; you claim to be Mr Clean? I have been informed by my officers that there are around 50 illegal land de-notification cases against Kumaraswamy. I will expose all of them, one by one. Don’t you worry,” said Shivakumar, taunting the current union minister.
Reacting to Shivakumar’s threat to expose the details of land de-notifications allegedly carried out by Kumaraswamy during his tenure as chief minister, the JD(S) leader challenged DKS to prove the charges he has made. “Is DK Shivakumar even human?” asked Kumaraswamy. “Let him do politics like a man.” Shivakumar has declined to respond to this at present.
“Don’t tempt me to expose you. You will not survive it, and whatever protection you may seek will not be enough to save you,” Kumaraswamy retorted sharply.
The Bengaluru-Mysuru corridor is a part of southern Karnataka, the heartland of the upper-caste Vokkaligas, a dominant community. These districts form the base of the JD(S), and it is because of this that the Bharatiya Janata Party was keen on allying in the recent Lok Sabha elections.
This exchange of attacks and counterattacks between the two powerful Vokkaliga leaders marks a new chapter in the rivalry between the two most prominent political families within the community—a rivalry that has persisted for nearly four decades.
Tensions between Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar have previously flared, particularly over the release of alleged sexual abuse videos involving the JD(S) leader’s nephew, former Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna. Kumaraswamy accused Shivakumar of orchestrating the leak for electoral gains during the Lok Sabha polls.
The relationship between Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar has been marked by periods of intense hostility followed by phases of apparent reconciliation. One such instance occurred after the 2018 state assembly elections, where the two leaders seemed to have resolved their differences. However, this time, both have gone all out to attack each other politically and personally.
On August 5, Shivakumar challenged Kumaraswamy to “find an auspicious time and date” to discuss his assets in public. Shivakumar stated that for the past two decades, there have been conspiracies against him, which he would like to reveal in full public view for people to see.
“I am under constant scrutiny by investigative agencies like the ED and CBI. They (the opposition) are just talking about what they have. Let them speak. My life is an open book, and I am ready to debate,” the deputy CM said.
He also responded to Kumaraswamy’s accusation that Shivakumar has amassed wealth through threats and blackmail. “Kumaraswamy is famously known as the blackmailing politician. He threatened the BJP that his party, JD(S), would not join the march. Then they joined. I thank him for making such statements against me; it exposes them, not me,” Shivakumar said.
Kumaraswamy has been levelling serious allegations against Shivakumar regarding land parcels registered under the deputy CM’s name in Bengaluru’s posh Sadashivanagar.
The union minister accused Shivakumar of using duress against Congress leader Allum Veerabhadrappa to sign a sale deed for a site in the locality. Kumaraswamy had allegedly claimed that Shivakumar kidnapped a woman to force her father to sign an agreement to transfer a site in Sadashivanagar to him.
“You obtained that land at gunpoint; you have registered sites belonging to widows in your name,” Kumaraswamy said. The union minister was reacting to a comment made by the deputy CM, demanding to know how the Gowda family amassed wealth and questioning the source of the large amounts of wealth for a family that claims to be humble farmers.
“He calls himself the son of the soil and says he only did farming. Did he get all that wealth by farming onions and potatoes?” questioned Shivakumar.
Trading allegations and counter-allegations, the situation escalated recently as the padayatra passed through parts of the Ramanagara district, largely due to the upcoming by-election for the Channapatna assembly constituency—a seat vacated by Kumaraswamy after his victory in the recent Lok Sabha elections from Mandya.
The Congress is reportedly considering fielding Shivakumar’s brother, former MP DK Suresh, as its candidate for Channapatna, while the JD(S) is likely to nominate Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil, for the seat. Congress insiders also suggest that there may be a possibility of Shivakumar himself contesting from Channapatna, which, they say, would make the election even more vitriolic.