H.D. Kumaraswamy Biography, Age, Spouse, Family, Native, Political party, Wiki, and other details

Haradanahalli Deve Gowda Kumaraswamy, commonly known as H. D. Kumaraswamy or “KumarAnna” among his friends and supporters, is the member of the Karnataka state Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)). He is an incumbent union Minister and MP from Mandya, Karnataka.

He was born as the youngest son of former Prime Minister of India, H. D. Deve Gowda. His interests initially extended beyond politics to the realm of cinema. Kumaraswamy’s political journey commenced in 1996 when he secured victory in the Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat. Although he faced defeat in subsequent elections, he persisted, contesting for a Sathanur assembly seat in 1999. In 2004, he successfully won the Ramanagara assembly segment.

His leadership was pivotal when 42 JD(S) MLAs, under his guidance, formed the government in Karnataka after the resignation of the Congress Government led by Dharam Singh on January 28, 2006. Serving as Chief Minister from February 4, 2006, to October 9, 2007, Kumaraswamy’s tenure witnessed notable economic growth in Karnataka, earning him the moniker “people’s CM.” Despite facing challenges, including the collapse of the JDS-Congress coalition government, he continued to serve his constituency diligently.

He won the 2023 Assembly elections with a significant majority. However, his time in office was not devoid of controversy. In September 2007, amid a power-sharing agreement, he initially announced his resignation but later refused to transfer power to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Eventually, he tendered his resignation, leading to President’s rule in the state. Despite initial disagreements, he later extended support to the BJP, facilitating the appointment of B. S. Yeddyurappa as Chief Minister.

H.D. Kumaraswamy Personal Life

Political Journey

• Joined Janata Dal party
• • Elected as MP from Kanakapura in 1996
• • Contested and lost Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat in 1998
• • Contested and lost Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat in 1999
• • Joined formation of Janata Dal (Secular) upon its formation in 1999
• • Contested and lost Sathanur assembly seat in 1999
• • Elected as MLA from Ramanagara in 2004
• • Chief Minister of Karnataka (3 February 2006 – 9 October 2007)
• • Re-elected as MLA from Ramanagarain 2008
• • Elected as MP from Bangalore Rural in 2009
• • Became Member of Committee on Rural Development on 31 August 2009
• • Became Member of Committee on Food Management in Parliament House Complex on 15 October 2009
• • Re-elected as MLA from Ramanagara in 2013
• • Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly (31 May 2013 – 22 January 2014)
• • President of Janata Dal (Secular), Karnataka (2014–2022)
• • Elected as MLA from Channapatna 2018
• • Chief Minister of Karnataka (23 May 2018 – 23 July 2019)
• • Elected as MLA from Channapatna in 2023
• • Won the 2024 Lok Sabha elections from the Mandya constituency with a margin of 2,84,620 as a National Democratic Alliance (NDA) candidate

Controversies

• • Accused of Conspiring to Murder B. Sriramulu: Ahead of the run-up to state-wide civic polls in Karnataka in 2007, tourism minister and BJP leader B Sriramulu alleged that CM Kumaraswamy was conspiring to murder him. Although Sriramulu did not lodge any criminal complaint with the police over the attempt to murder, he submitted a petition against Kumaraswamy’s political accomplice Suryanarayana Reddy and a few other JD(S) leaders. At that time, Karnataka’s ruling coalition partners, BJP and JD(S), were playing a game of cat and mouse over the transfer of chief ministership. Sriramulu’s allegations against Kumaraswamy led the ruling coalition to the verge of breakup. In his defence, while talking to reporters, Kumaraswamy claimed that some BJP members were conspiring to tarnish his image in public. After being backlashed by BJP, Sriramulu had to tender his resignation as a minister to B S Yediyurappa, ensuring that Sriramulu did not remain a bone of contention in the power-sharing. Sriramulu announced that he would not be part of the JD(S)-BJP coalition ministry even after Kumaraswamy transfers the power to BJP’s deputy chief minister B S Yediyurappa during the next 20 months.]

• Bigamy Charges: In 2011, advocate Shashidhar Belagumbe filed a PIL in the Karnataka High Court claiming that Kumaraswamy had violated the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 by getting married to Radhika, his second wife, while he was already married to Anitha. Although various tabloids highlighted the alleged affair of Kumaraswamy and Radhika, he had maintained strict silence on the issue in public until then. Belagumbe submitted newspaper reports that stated the alleged affair as proof to the HC. Belagumbe also submitted photographs of Kumaraswamy and Radhika together with their daughter. The division bench headed by Chief Justice Vikramajit Sen dismissed the PIL on the grounds of lack of proof.
• Accused of Involvement in Janthakal Mining Scam: In 2017, corruption charges were levelled against Kumaraswamy by Lokayukta for his alleged involvement in an illegal iron or mining scam connected to the Jantakal mines in Karnataka. Reportedly, Kumaraswamy, while serving as the CM of Karnataka (2006-2007), lent his assistance in facilitating a major mining scam that benefited a privately owned company named Janthakal Enterprises. It was alleged that Kumaraswamy had pressured a senior bureaucrat named Ganga Ram Baderiya to renew the firm’s mining lease for 40 years in 2007 with forged documents, violating numerous rules. Moreover, it is said that Kumaraswamy allowed Janthakal Enterprises to lift 100,000 tonnes of iron ore without requisite permissions under the Forest Conservation Act. Kumaraswamy dismissed the charges and claimed that the case was made out of political vendetta, but a bench of Justices Ranjan Gogoi and P C Pant directed Kumaraswamy and his wife to face trial in the graft case.
• Vishwabharati Case: Once a Bengaluru-based advocate named Vinod Kumar obtained information under the Right to Information Act that Kumaraswamy had allotted 80 acres (approx.) of land to Vishwabharathi Housing Cooperative Society just four days before resigning as the CM of Karnataka in 2007. In 2011, Karnataka HC quashed criminal proceedings against Kumaraswamy, but the SC bench set aside the 2011 ruling of Karnataka HC in 2016 and ordered him to face trial in the 2007 land allotment case.
• Land De-Notification Case: Once complainant Mahadevswamy claimed that Kumaraswamy, during his tenure as CM of Karnataka (2006-2007), had de-notified 3.8 acres of land in Thanisandra village, which had been acquired by the Bangalore Development Authority for the formation of residential sites in Arkavathy Layout. While Mahadevswamy sought action against Kumaraswamy under the Prevention of Corruption Act, Kumaraswamy filed a petition seeking dismissal of the case arguing that it was baseless. Finally, a special Lokayukta court acquitted Kumaraswamy in the land de-notification in 2018. Judge D B Patil said the court did not find any proof to establish Kumaraswamy’s guilt in the case
• Accusing BJP of Violence During CAA Protests: Kumaraswamy stirred controversy in 2020 when he released Video CDs of the violent clashes between police and anti-CAA protesters in Mangaluru during a press meeting held in JP Bhavan in Bengaluru. The videos featured police lathi-charging the protestors and opening fire which led to the death of 2 people. [14] He immensely criticized the ruling BJP government for using inhuman procedures to suppress the protests. BJP MP Shobha Karandlaje reciprocated the accusations against her party by claiming that Kumaraswamy was misleading the probe and had fabricated the videos. Additionally, she also demanded to know the source of origin of the videos. Meanwhile, CM BS Yediyurappa also dismissed the videotapes and referred to them as a ‘cut-and-paste job’.
• Garnered Criticism For Anti-Brahmin Remarks: Following the 2023 assembly elections in Karnataka, Kumaraswamy claimed that RSS was conspiring to make Pralhad Joshi the CM of Karnataka. Joshi was serving as the Union Minister for Coal and Mines at that time. Kumaraswamy garnered criticism when he alleged that Joshi belonged to a category among Brahmins “who lacked culture and divided society.” Kumaraswamy also said that the Union Minister belonged to a sect of Brahmins that desecrated the Sringeri Shankaracharya Peeth and assassinated Mahatma Gandhi. Kumaraswamy’s harsh remarks came in the aftermath of Joshi’s statement in which he said that JD(S) should have undertaken a “Navagraha Yatra ” instead of a Pancharatna Yatra (party rally) “as 8-9 members of the party patriarch H D Deve Gowda’s immediate family are in politics.” Days later, Kumaraswamy explained that he had highlighted only those Brahmins who had attacked the Chandramouleshwara temple in Sringeri, a section that assassinated Mahatma Gandhi and Maratha ruler Shivaji. He claimed that the Brahmins he referred to were not from Karnataka but the neighbouring state of Maharashtra.
• Objectionable Comments on MP Sumalatha: In 2021, Kumaraswamy made derogatory comments against Sumalatha Ambareesh, an independent MP from Mandya. He said, “If the gates are leaking, make her (Sumalatha) sleep in front of the sluice gates to prevent seepage” His statement came soon after he led a delegation of MLAs to BS Yediyurappa to emphasize that the state-owned “MySugar” (Mysore Sugar) factory in Mandya should not be leased out to private industrial units. There were reports that it may be leased for 40 years to a sugar factory baron in Yediyurappa’s cabinet.