BENGALURU/BELAGAVI: It is over a week since the winter session of the legislature commenced in Belagavi, and the focus has been on North Karnataka. But JDS has not been able to take advantage of this, and leaders privately confessed that they miss Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy in the House.
They said “Kumaranna” may be just a phone call away, but party legislators grinding through the session feel that his absence is too big to fill. Now, his flock — including five wide-eyed first-time MLAs — is yearning for his on-the-spot wisdom.
“You may not see Kumaranna in the House, but he is guiding us even on the smallest of issues,” one legislator said, admitting that they all miss his presence on the floor, like a security blanket.
But in the present session, their inability to take advantage of taking up North Karnataka issues is showing.
“To counter such North Karnataka disconnect, Kumaraswamy not in the not too distant past had changed his residence to Hubballi for some time,” the legislator said.
JDS MLC Sharavana echoed the party blues, “As a party, we miss his guiding presence. But he’s got his ministerial duties. We call and we get wisdom over the phone. But when he’s tied up in sessions or meetings, no one fills that void. Kumaranna is Kumaranna. We keep in touch with him every day though.”
JDS which used to have many MLAs from North Karnataka has just four MLAs from the region now. Gurmitkal MLA Sharangouda Kandakoor said, “While it is true that we used to have larger numbers from North Karnataka and now our numbers are down. Yet this government needs to have ears to listen to us which it doesn’t have.”
A legislator revealed the family hotline.
“We bounce issues off Nikhil Kumaraswamy, Kumaranna and HD Deve Gowda. It all gets cleared up.”
Bottom line: Kumaraswamy’s Delhi call up is a double-edged sword for JDS — remote control leadership keeps the ship afloat, but boots-on-ground guidance? Irreplaceable. As sessions heat up, will phone-a-friend suffice, or is the party adrift without its captain.
Political analyst BS Murthy said, “The almost invisible presence of JDS MLAs from North Karnataka adds to the perception that JDS is largely an Old Mysuru party. This could have been a great opportunity for HDK and the party to raise issues important to North Karnataka.”