The Return of the Dynasty

Politics is truly the art of the possible, and the former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda, is truly the greatest practitioner of the art. The October deadline for his sibling chief minister HD Kumaraswamy to hand over power to his deputy, the BJP's Yediyurappa, is proving to be a too difficult pill to swallow, so much so, that the patriarch is seeking divine help to protect the gaddi for his beloved son. What about the gentleman's agreement between the two parties when they came together to oust their common enemy, the Congress? It was decided and agreed to by the leadership of the JD(S) and the BJP that they would get the CM's hot seat for 20 months each. With Kumaraswamy's regime coming to an end, how the JD(S) can plot and plan to put innumerable roadblocks in the path of Yediyurappa is baffling to the ordinary intelligence of the ordinary folk. But politics, power games, and sharing of spoils, is anything but ordinary, and certainly not for the chicken hearted genteel, who worry about silly things like a gentleman's agreement, basic level of morality, etc etc.

While the Gowda clan's unwillingness to shed power is understandable, what isn't is the fact that a veteran politician like Deve Gowda thinks nothing of taking the people for granted, of treating public opinion with utter contempt, and grossly underestimating the intelligence of the average voter.

For instance, if HDK continues to be CM on some pretext or the other, or if the JD(S) gangs up with its old friend turned foe, the Congress, with the sole intention of preventing the BJP from getting its first CM, the assumption is that the people won't see through the games of the Gowda clan. The voters have shown time and again that they are not as gullible as they seem to be.