BENGALURU: For a leader who is trying to establish himself as the face of the Vokkaliga community, DK Shivakumar found the perfect stage at Kempegowda Jayanti celebrations on Thursday. With CM Kumaraswamy spending his day in Bidar as part of Grama Vastavya, Shivakumar, who is also the minister for Kannada and Culture, led the celebrations along with Deputy CM G Parameshwara at Vidhan Soudha.
Vokkaliga seers, including Adichunchanagiri mutt’s pontiff Nirmalananda Swamiji, Tumakuru Spatikapura
mahasamsthana mutt’s Nanjaavadoota swamiji, Vishwa Vokkaliga koota mutt’s Chandrashekharanatha
Swamiji, were present at the occasion.
Not one to lose out on an opportunity, Shivakumar stopped short of asserting his “shared history” with Kempegowda. “Kempegowda and I share a bond, history and connection that I do not want to dwell upon right now,” Shivakumar said.