BENGALURU: If there could be any comparison between two stalwarts of Karnataka politics, it would be between former chief minister SM Krishna and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, contemporaries from the Vokkaliga community of Old Mysuru region.
They hail from diverse backgrounds: Krishna a foreign-educated law graduate, and Gowda a civil engineer-turned-contractor, who shaped themselves in public life to emerge as leaders at the state, national and international arenas.
Incidentally, both of them began their political journey in 1962 when they were elected as independents from Maddur and Holenarasipura assembly constituencies respectively. Krishna, who later identified with the Praja Socialist Party, joined the Congress following the call of former prime minister Indira Gandhi.
Under the patronage of the Grand Old Party, he scaled new heights when he went on to become external affairs minister in the Manmohan Singh cabinet. In his yet-to-be released autobiography, Krishna has reportedly mentioned that his name was considered for the PM’s post in 2004.
Gowda, who defied the Congress party, managed to go from strength to strength by becoming a prominent leader of the Janata Parivar in the state, and gradually developed his bargaining power that helped him grow individually and also make the Janata Dal (S) a key state player, according to political analysts.
“By the time he became prime minister on June 1, 1996, he had emerged as a powerful regional satrap which further strengthened his bond with the Vokkaliga community of Old Mysuru region,” observed veteran journalist D Umapathy.
Another veteran scribe, RK Joshi, observed that both Gowda and Krishna waged a war subtly to outdo each other, but the former became successful as he was more professional in his politics than the latter. “Each and every poll, small or big, or even bypoll, Gowda fought from the front,” he remarked.
“In 2004, Krishna had tried to reconcile with Gowda as he wished to become chief minister again of the Congress-JDS alliance government, to take forward his development programmes for the state. But Gowda knew the danger of acceding to such a proposal from another Vokkaliga leader, and categorically rejected the deal. If Gowda had given in, his charisma as the undisputed Vokkaliga leader of the region would have diminished.”
Krishna reluctantly agreed to become Maharashtra governor, which further distanced him from the state’s active politics, and the chance of Gowda wielding his influence in this regard on then AICC president Sonia Gandhi cannot be ruled out, said a Congress leader.
“Although they came from different political streams, I have been witness when they discussed issues with mutual respect and trust,” remarked Gowda’s son and Union minister D Kumaraswamy.
“I am saddened by the passing away of Shri SM Krishna, my friend and longtime Karnataka colleague. We started out in politics around the same time, and cultivated very different approaches to development and governance,” Gowda had posted on X.