Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy (born 16 December 1959) is an Indian politician and film producer who is serving as the Minister of Heavy Industries and

Steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

of India since 10 June 2024. He also served as the 18th

Chief Minister of Karnataka The Chief minister (India), chief minister of Karnataka is the Head of government, chief executive officer of the Government of Karnataka, government of the Indian state of Karnataka. As per the Constitution of India, the governor of Karnatak ...

from 2018 to 2019 and previously from 2006 to 2007. He was also the leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from 2013 to 2014. He is currently the president of the Karnataka State

Janata Dal (Secular) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

. He is a member of Lok Sabha, having been elected from

Mandya Mandya is a city in the state of Karnataka. It is the headquarter of Mandya district, Sugar factories contribute to the major economic output. It is also called Sugar City (Kannada: ''Sakkare Nagara'') because sugarcane is a major crop grown ...

and the former member of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Channapatna from 2018 to 2024, Ramanagara from 2004 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2018. He is the son of former

prime minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

of India & former

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

of Karnataka H. D. Deve Gowda.And the new Janata Dal (s) chief is HD Kumaraswamy
/ref>

Early life and education

Kumaraswamy was born in

Haradanahalli Haradanahalli is a village in the Holenarasipur Taluk of Hassan District in the state of Karnataka, India. Haradanahalli is home town of 11th Prime Minister of India, H. D. Deve Gowda who was born on 18 May 1933 in Haradanahalli village. No ...

, Holenarasipura taluk of Hassan district, Karnataka to H. D. Deve Gowda and Chennamma. He completed primary education in a government school in Hassan district. He finished his high school studies in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

's MES Educational Institution in Jayanagar and Bachelor of Science degree from National College Basavanagudi, Bangalore.

Personal life

On 13 March 1985, Kumaraswamy married Anitha Kumaraswamy. They have a son, Nikhil Gowda. In November 2010, Radhika revealed that she was married to him and that they have a daughter named Shamika. They separated in 2015.

Political career

Kumaraswamy entered politics by winning from

Kanakapura Kanakapura is a city in the Bengaluru South District of Karnataka on the banks of the Arkavathi river and the administrative center of the taluk of the same name. Its founder is Shrihan Kanaka Sigmanath, hence its name. Kanakapura is largest ...

(in

Ramanagara District Bengaluru South ( Ramanagara ) District is one of the 31 districts of Karnataka state in southern India. Ramanagara City is the administrative headquarters of this district. The district is part of Bangalore Division. History Ramanagara dist ...

) in the

1996 general elections General elections were held in India on 27 April, 2 May and 7 May 1996 to elect the members of the 11th Lok Sabha, eleventh Lok Sabha. The elections resulted in a hung parliament with no single party having a clear majority. The Bharatiya Jan ...

. He sought re-election from Kanakapura in 1998 and lost to M. V. Chandrashekara Murthy. This was Kumaraswamy's worst defeat ever where he lost by such a margin that he even forfeited his deposit. He again contested unsuccessfully for a Sathanur assembly seat in 1999 when he was defeated by congress heavyweight D. K. Shivakumar. In 2004, he was elected to represent the

Ramanagara Ramanagara is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is also the headquarters of the Bengaluru South District. It is approximately 50 kilometres from Bangalore. There are buses and trains as public transportations which approximately take ...

assembly segment. When the 2004 state elections resulted in a hung assembly with no party getting enough seats to form a government, the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

and

(JD(S)) parties decided to come together and form a coalition government. Known for his adaptability and friendly nature,

Dharam Singh Dharam Narayan Singh (25 December 1936 – 27 July 2017) was an Indian politician who served as the 11th Chief Minister of Karnataka from 28 May 2004 to 28 January 2006 and Member of the Lok Sabha from Bidar Lok Sabha constituency, in 15th Lok ...

of the Congress was the unanimous choice of both parties to head the government. He was sworn in as

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...

on 28 May 2004. Forty-two

MLAs A Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) is a representative elected to sit in a legislative assembly. The term most commonly refers to members of the legislature of a federated state or an autonomous region, but is also used for several nationa ...

of Janata Dal (Secular) under Kumaraswamy's leadership left the coalition and the government collapsed. On 28 January 2006, Karnataka Governor

T. N. Chaturvedi Triloki Nath Chaturvedi (18 January 1928 — 5 January 2020) spent almost 70 years of his life in the administrative and political system of independent India. He was a member of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS), held the constitutional ...

invited Kumaraswamy to form the government in the state after the resignation of the Congress Government led by Dharam Singh. He was

from 4 February 2006 to 9 October 2007. On 27 September 2007, Kumaraswamy said that he would leave office on 3 October as part of a power-sharing agreement between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...

(BJP), despite the calls of some legislators in the JD(S) for him to remain in office for the time being, due to complications in arranging the transfer of power. However, on 4 October 2007, he refused to transfer power to the BJP. Finally, on 8 October 2007, he tendered his resignation to Governor Rameshwar Thakur, and the state was put under President's rule two days later. However, he reconciled later and decided to offer support to the BJP. BJP's B. S. Yeddyurappa was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Karnataka on 12 November 2007. But, again refused to support BJP government over a disagreement on sharing of ministries which resulted in Yeddyurappa resignation as Chief Minister on 19 November 2007. After the untimely demise of Karnataka state JD(S) President Merajuddin Patel, he was elected unopposed as President of the state unit. However, after the by-election results of

Bangalore Rural Lok Sabha constituency Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

and

in which his party candidates lost, he resigned from the post of President of the Janata Dal (Secular) State unit, and as leader of the opposition. However, party cadres succeeded in convincing him not to quit as leader of opposition in the Karnataka Assembly. In September 2013, A. Krishnappa was selected as Janata Dal-Secular's president for Karnataka, filling the vacancy left by Kumaraswamy. In November 2014 Kumaraswamy was elected as Karnataka state Janata Dal (Secular) President. Kumaraswamy is also known for accusing political rivals of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

. In 2018 elections in Karnataka state, JD(S) was the third-largest party but after a post-poll alliance with the

Rahul Gandhi Rahul Rajiv Gandhi (; born 19 June 1970) is an Indian politician. A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he is currently serving as the 12th leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha and as the member of the Lok Sabha for Rae Bareli Lok ...

led Indian National Congress, he was sworn in as the Chief Minister on 23 May 2018. In the 2019 parliament elections, his son Nikhil Gowda contested in the

Mandya (Lok Sabha constituency) Mandya is one of the 28 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Karnataka state in southern India. This constituency covers the entirety of Mandya district ( ಮಂಡ್ಯ ) and part of Mysore district. Assembly segments Mandya Lok Sabh ...

against an independent candidate

Sumalatha Sumalatha Ambareesh (born 27 August 1963) is an Indian actress and politician. She has acted in over 220 films across multiple languages, primarily in Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada, with a few appearances in Tamil and Hindi cinema. She received ...

, wife of film actor Late

Ambareesh Malavalli Huchchegowda Amarnath (29 May 1952 – 24 November 2018), known by his screen name Ambareesh, was an Indian actor, media personality, politician from the state of Karnataka. Alongside Rajkumar and Vishnuvardhan, he is counted ...

. Kumaraswamy took this contest as a prestige and campaigned all across the constituency. In vain his son lost the election by a margin of 1,30,000 odd votes. This was a major setback and abashment to Kumaraswamy in his political career. He also shed tears in a party convention in

, recalling the election loss faced by his son. On the month of July 2019, his government lost its majority when 13 MLAs of Congress and 3 MLAs of his own party resigned to their MLA Posts. BSP MLA Mahesh N & 2 Independent MLAs withdrew their support for

H.D.Kumaraswamy Haradanahalli Devegowda Kumaraswamy (born 16 December 1959) is an Indian politician and film producer who is serving as the Minister of Heavy Industries and Steel of India since 10 June 2024. He also served as the 18th Chief Minister of Karnat ...

led coalition Government in Karnataka. On 23 July Kumaraswamy lost his majority in Karnataka floor test. Kumaraswamy resigned to the Chief Minister post, by submitting his resignation letter to governor

Vajubhai Vala Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala (born 23 January 1937) is an Indian statesman who was the 12th Governor of Karnataka from 1 September 2014 to 6 July 2021. He is also the longest-serving governor for Karnataka after Khurshed Alam Khan. Vajubhai served ...

on 23 July 2019. Then BJP was invited to form the government as the single largest party, by the governor and B. S.Yediyurappa took oath as the Chief Minister of Karnataka by succeeding him. In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly Elections, he won from

Channapatna Channapattana or Chennapattana is a city and taluk headquarters in Bengaluru South District, Karnataka, India. Channapatna is approximately 60 km from Bangalore and 80 km from Mysore. Channapatna toys are popular all over the world ...

against BJP's C. P. Yogeshwar by a margin of 20,000 votes, while his son

Nikhil Nikhil () is a male name of Sanskrit origin. It is predominantly found in India, Nepal, and the diaspora of these countries. The name means "complete" or "whole". Notable people * Nikhil Advani, Hindi film director * Nikhil Banerjee, sitar play ...

lost in his previous constituency,

to the Congress candidate. His party

JD(S) {{Infobox Indian Political Party , party_name = Janata Dal (Secular) , party_logo = , colorcode = {{party color, Janata Dal (Secular) , abbreviation = JD(S) , president = H. D. Deve Gowda , founder ...

managed to win 19 seats of the contested 204 seats in the same elections.

Positions held

Source :

Electoral performance

Lok Sabha

Karnataka Legislative Assembly

Film and television

Kumaraswamy is into film production and distribution. He has produced several Kannada films including ''

Chandra Chakori ''Chandra Chakori'' () is a 2003 Indian Kannada-language romance drama film directed by S. Narayan and produced by H. D. Kumaraswamy and Anitha Kumaraswamy under Chennambika Films. The film stars debutants Sriimurali, Priya, Naaz and Srinagara ...

'', a huge hit, credited with 365 day-run in theaters.

Surya Vamsha ''Suryavamsha '' (English : Solar Dynasty) is a 1999 Indian Kannada-language drama film directed by S. Narayan and written by Vikraman. The film stars Vishnuvardhan in dual role with Lakshmi and Isha Koppikar (in her Kannada debut). The film ...

which was directed by

S. Narayan S. Narayan (born 5 June 1962) is an Indian filmmaker, director, actor and lyricist of Kannada films. After Singeetam Srinivasa Rao, Narayan is the second director to direct Dr. Rajkumar and all his three sons. He has given many hits with Dr. Vi ...

was the debut movie produced by Kumaraswamy under Chennambika films, named after his mother. In 2016 his banner also produced his son's debut movie

Jaguar (2016 film) ''Jaguar'' is a 2016 Indian vigilante action film directed by A. Mahadev from a story by V. Vijayendra Prasad and produced by H. D. Kumaraswamy under Channambika Films. The film, shot simultaneously in Kannada and Telugu languages, stars Nikhi ...

and his 2nd movie

Seetharama Kalyana ''Seetharama Kalyana '' is a 2019 Indian Kannada-language action drama film written and directed by A. Harsha and produced by Anitha Kumaraswamy under the Channambika Films banner. The film has an ensemble cast with Nikhil Kumar and Rachita ...

in 2019. *'' Premotsava'' (1999) *''

'' (2000) *'' Galate Aliyandru'' (2001) *''Jithendra'' (2002) *''

'' (2003) *''

Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...

'' (2016) *''

'' (2019) In September 2007, Kumaraswamy started the Kannada television channel Kasturi. The channel is now owned and managed by his wife Anitha.

Controversies

Bigamy charges

Kumaraswamy was accused of

bigamy In a culture where only monogamous relationships are legally recognized, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their mar ...

which is illegal according to Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 of India. A

public interest litigation The chief instrument through which judicial activism has flourished in India is public interest litigation (PIL) or social action litigation (SAL). It refers to litigation undertaken to secure public interest and demonstrates the availability ...

was filed after media reports of his marriage to

Kannada cinema Kannada cinema, also known as Sandalwood, or Chandanavana, is the segment of Indian cinema dedicated to the production of motion pictures in the Kannada language widely spoken in the state of Karnataka. Kannada cinema is based in Gandhi Nagar ...

actress

Radhika Kumaraswamy Radhika Kumaraswamy (born Radhika Poojary) is an Indian actress and producer, who primarily appears in Kannada films. She made her acting debut in 2002 with the Kannada film '' Ninagagi''. In 2012, she produced her first film, ''Lucky'' starri ...

surfaced. Since Kumaraswamy is married to his first wife Anitha, his second marriage with Radhika is a violation of law. However a division bench of

Karnataka High Court The High Court of Karnataka (''IAST: Karnāṭaka Ućća Nyāyālaya'', commonly referred to as the Karnataka High Court and formerly known as the Mysore High Court, is the highest judicial authority of the Indian state of Karnataka. The court ...

headed by Chief Justice

Vikramajit Sen Vikramajit Sen (born 31 December 1950) is an Indian Judge, who has served as a sitting judge of the Supreme Court of India from 2012 to 2015. He has also served as the Chief Justice of the Karnataka High Court from 2011 to 2012. From May 2019 ...

dismissed the case citing "lack of proof".

Janthakal mining scam

Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha are facing charges in the Janthakal mining scam. He is accused of pressuring a senior bureaucrat to renew Janthakal Enterprise's lease of iron ore mining for 40 years on the basis of forged documents and violating several rules. The bureaucrat, Ganga Ram Baderiya, was allegedly given kickbacks by Janthakal Enterprise. The owner of Janthakal Enterprises, mining baron Vinod Goel, was arrested in 2015 on charges of forgery. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) is probing this scam on the direction of

Supreme Court of India The Supreme Court of India is the supreme judiciary of India, judicial authority and the supreme court, highest court of the Republic of India. It is the final Appellate court, court of appeal for all civil and criminal cases in India. It also ...

Vishwabharati case

Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha are accused of misuse of official position in allotment of 80 acres of land to Vishwabharati House Building Cooperative Society Ltd, a private cooperative society, which later made a quid pro quo site allotment to Anitha, during Kumaraswamy's tenure as Chief Minister in 2006.

Release of CD on Mangalore protests

Kumaraswamy called for a press meet and released a CD containing 35 video clips of the violence during the Mangalore protests against the CAA. The video presented the policemen acting violently against the protesters and beating up the civilians of the city, leading to riots in the city. He accused that the police directly followed the government orders inhumanly and were the main reason for the shoot out that killed 2 people during the protests. The BJP in return accused that these video clips are all edited versions of older footages of some other circumstances. They also said that Kumaraswamy is misleading the people by producing inappropriate footages in public that provokes confusion and violence among the people. The BJP included saying that Kumaraswamy, being a senior politician in the state is directly accusing the government officials and the police, which is unacceptable.

Statements on RSS

In February 2023, Kumarswamy said that a secret meet of RSS in Delhi, has decide to make a Brahmin,

Pralhad Joshi Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi (born 27 November 1962) is an Indian politician who is the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and the Minister of New and Renewable Energy since 2024. He was also the Union Minister of Parliame ...

, the next chief minister of Karnataka. This led to vast opposition from the BJP and also the Brahmin's Mahasabha, asking for an apology for these statements.

Stealing electricity from BESCOM

In November 2023, Kumaraswamy was accused of stealing electricity from

BESCOM The Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited, also known as KPTCL, is the sole electricity transmission and distribution company in state of Karnataka. Its origin was in Karnataka Electricity Board. Until 2002, the Karnataka Electricity ...

to light his home in J P Nagar, Bengaluru during

Deepavali Diwali (), also called Deepavali (IAST: ''Dīpāvalī'') or Deepawali (IAST: ''Dīpāwalī''), is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism. It symbolises the spiritual ...

festival. Kumaraswamy was fined ₹ 68,526 for stealing electric power. Kumaraswamy was also booked under Section 135 of Indian Electricity Act (Theft of Electricity).

References

External links

H. D. Kumaraswamy affidavit
, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Kumaraswamy, HD 1959 births Living people Chief ministers of Karnataka India MPs 2009–2014 People from Ramanagara Politicians from Bengaluru People from Hassan district Children of prime ministers of India Janata Dal (Secular) politicians Janata Dal politicians Karnataka MLAs 2013–2018 Lok Sabha members from Karnataka India MPs 1996–1997 People from Bangalore Rural district Candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Leaders of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly Kannada film producers Film producers from Karnataka Karnataka MLAs 2018–2023 Karnataka MLAs 2023–2028 India MPs 2024–2029