HYDERABAD: A master strategist that he is, Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao chose to personally greet Karnataka CM-designate HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday, a day before the high-profile swearing-in ceremony is to take place. He returned here the same night. Kumaraswamy is all set to be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka with the support of Congress in a glittering ceremony in Bengaluru on Wednesday.
Rao’s is being seen as a strategic move to avoid sharing dais with top Congress leaders including Sonia Gandhi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi, which would have otherwise sent wrong political signals. This way, Rao, who is garnering support for his proposed non-congress, non-BJP Federal Front by visiting leaders of various regional parties, now has another regional party as a possible ally while maintaining equal distance from both the BJP and Congress.
On his brief visit to Bengaluru on Tuesday by a special flight, Rao, accompanied by Assembly Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary, and MPs K Keshava Rao, B Vinod Kumar and J Santosh Kumar congratulated both Kumaraswamy and his father and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda at their residence. They are understood to have had a brief discussion on the prevailing political scenario in the country.
Though Rao chose to visit Bengaluru only on Tuesday, his office sent out a message that he would be undertaking the visit on Tuesday due to his pressing engagements here on Wednesday. ‘‘There are significant meetings on Rythu Bandhu and collectors’ conference scheduled for tomorrow due to which I chose to visit Bengaluru today itself. I will not be present at the swearing-in tomorrow but will go back there later (to meet Kumaraswamy once again),’’ Rao told reporters after emerging from a meeting with Gowdas at their residence, to whom he presented shawls.