His Poise Son

The mood in the month-old Karnataka CM’s camp is one of obligation to the people who helped him grab the chair. Kumaraswamy is yet to fully transform himself from a working president of the Janata Dal (S) to a chief minister. But yet, in the media he has maintained a strident focus on development. He has come across as far more sober on a variety of issues than his "bulldozing" father. He has even reversed many policy paths that Deve Gowda had so vociferously espoused just a few months ago. But people who were part of the former Dharam Singh regime are quick to warn: "He is being tutored by his father. It is convenient for them to now change track on all the issues. What appear to be his mature interventions are all pre-planned. Normally it takes two to three months for a CM to settle down, but the new CM had statements ready on the very first day. His Delhi itinerary was ready within the first few days. He knew whom to meet and what projects to follow up in the capital. It’s a big game, everything is part of a clearly worked out strategy," says one.

What is it that Kumaraswamy has done that is clearly a deviation from his father’s public stance? Actually, plenty. First, the Metro rail issue: Gowda had constantly written letters to the PM and then CM questioning the financial viability of the Rs 6,800-crore project. He had clearly said that it was not the best thing to happen to Bangalore. But his son seems to think otherwise. After taking a ride on the Delhi Metro, he has said "come what may" this is the system for the city and "it will take off within days". It is another matter that the metro file is lying before a GoM of the Union cabinet and people in the know say that it may take a while before all the approvals are secured and finances arranged. The Centre has to contribute Rs 1,600 crore to the project, the state will put in a matching grant and the rest is expected to be raised from banks. In the recent Union budget, only a sum of Rs 30 crore was sanctioned. Ex-chief minister Dharam Singh only hesitantly asked why Gowda Sr was keeping mum over his son’s enthusiasm for the metro project.

On the controversial Infosys issue too, Kumaraswamy seems to be favourably disposed to the company. Deve Gowda’s problems with Infosys chief N.R. Narayanamurthy have been widely reported. There were heated exchanges between the two with Gowda accusing the latter of making unreasonable demands on the state government and clamouring for a favoured status. But Kumaraswamy does not want to pursue this confrontationist attitude. IT secretary Shankaralinge Gowda confirmed to Outlook that Infy’s request for 700 acres of land was before an audit panel headed by the industry secretary and "it would be approved very soon". A high-level panel headed by the CM has already approved a second campus for the company in the city. The IT secretary also said that SEZ status would soon be given to Mysore which would help Infy to begin its development centre there. At present, Infy has only a training facility in Mysore. After all the noise that Gowda made in November last, this turnaround by his son comes as a total surprise.

Deve Gowda had taken to the streets the battle of "additional acquisition of land" for the Bangalore-Mysore infrastructure corridor project (BMIC) being constructed by the Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises (NICE). The matter is in the Supreme Court and it was in this case that the high court had ordered perjury proceedings against the then chief secretary, K.K. Misra. At the height of this battle, the MD of the company, Ashok Kheny, had even threatened Gowda with a defamation case. But now, Gowda’s son, it is learnt, has decided not to interfere in the project. "He will not support, nor oppose, he will let them alone," an official source said. But something more interesting is that Kumaraswamy has appointed R.N. Narasimha Murthy as the state’s new advocate general. "Just before Murthy took up his new assignment, he was our lawyer," said a NICE source.

One is not sure as to how to read these departures by Kumaraswamy. Does it establish the fact that he has a mind of his own and his rebellion against his father was indeed genuine? Or, as people suspect, is it about having the cake and eating it too? Is his family being the opposition as well as the government? As if to bolster this argument, the CM has said that he would support the candidate of his parent party in the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

So what is Kumaraswamy’s gameplan? He wants to come through as a practical politician who does not want to take on the powerful IT captains of Bangalore. With them on his side, he hopes to bring the media and the elite of the city too to his side. This is something very critical for Kumaraswamy, who lacks the charisma of an S. M. Krishna. But can the CM deliver on his promises—that’s the big question.

Despite all the deft political "manoeuvering" by the Gowda family, the long list of assurances that he has been making in the past month may not see the light of the day if he cannot manage funds from the Centre. If the recent railway and Union budget were any indication, it is going to be an uphill task. Here’s how the CM recently reacted in the local press when asked what happened to the Rs 500 crore that IT Minister Dayanidhi Maran had promised for Bangalore’s infrastructure: "It is for him to keep his word," he said. Is this helplessness the price one has to pay for dropping the ‘secular’ tag?