Elephant stables at Hampi
By Shankar Raj*
In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus. He had so cunningly made the Labyrinth that he could barely escape it after he built it. That was the situation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka which dominated political space in 2021.
Apart from BJP’s confused jugglery of leaders at the helm in the state, the year was also known for the large number of Covid cases with Bengaluru heading the dubious chart of positive cases and death for a few weeks and the untimely departure of Appu, as Sandalwood actor Puneeth Kumar was known.
Speaking of the Labyrinth, the BJP leadership in Delhi tried all the tricks, threats and gifts to push veteran 78-year-old political warhorse out of the Chief Minister stable in July. But the senior Lingayat leader refused to sniff the cue and preferred to play hide and seek with his party bosses in Delhi before he was made to step down – not before soaking himself in tears. And then came the guessing game before a dark horse rode into Vidhana Soudha – the State Assembly – in the form of Basavaraj Bommai – making many jaws drop in disbelief.
But as a farewell tune is being played to 2021, ironically, Bommai too finds himself listening to another farewell tune with talks of him being replaced!
Initially Bommai played his cards well, but as he warmed the CM’s chair, he swung to the right in a dramatic shift by justifying moral policing in coastal Karnataka and in December, he pushed through the controversial and tough Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 popularly known as the anti-conversion bill.
The State also notified the Karnataka Police (Amendment) Act, 2021, banning all formats of online games involving wagering, betting and gambling of all nature and forms in the state. The matter is before the High Court now.
Bommai also played the ‘Kannadiga card’ by whipping up the Belagavi border row with Maharashtra and indirectly supporting the clamour to ban the Maharashtra Ekikarana Samithi (MES) in Karnataka.
Apart from leadership changes and battles for supremacy, the political turf in Karnataka was also rocked by a sex-for-job scandal involving Water Resources Minister Ramesh Jarkiholi who, after stout denials, resigned on “moral grounds.”
Speaking of sex scandal, there were blushes and collective embarrassment when Health and Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar dared all 225 Karnataka MLAs to come clean on their “extra-marital affairs by undergoing monogamy test”.
Since nobody wanted to be caught with their pants down, every MLA worth his political salt made Sudhakar withdraw his challenge.
On the scandal front, Karnataka also witnessed the Bitcoin scam that threatened to involve politicians and the police. The scam surfaced after officials seized bitcoins worth Rs 9 crore from a notorious city-based hacker, Srikrishna Ramesh alias Sriki (26). He is said to have hacked into poker gaming websites and extorted money.
Apart from politics and scandals, Karnataka occupied the dubious top slot in the number of Covid active cases and deaths. The virus ravaged Bengaluru, leaving over 25,000 dead across the state.
But what plunged Karnataka into collective grief was the untimely death of ‘Power Star’ Puneeth Rajkumar. In the dying embers of 2021, 46-year-old Appu, died of cardiac arrest on October 29. He was the son of the legendary actor Raj Kumar.
On June 15, there was another jolt to Sandalwood when national Award-winning Kannada actor Sanchari Vijay (37) passed away. He rose to fame with the film Naanu Avanalla Avalu, which fetched him his first National Award.
The state also lost veteran freedom fighter and activist HS Doreswamy who passed away at 103 on May 26.
The coming year promises to be more newsy with the State gearing up for a crucial Assembly election early 2023. Will the BJP be able to hold its fort in the south? Well, wait for a ‘Hot Year’ ahead.
*Shankar Raj is former Editor of The New Indian Express, Karnataka and Kerala, and writes regularly on current affairs.
