DKS asks Tejaswini Anantkumar to ‘join politics’, sets tongues wagging

Maqsood Maniyar | NT

Bengaluru: Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar raised eyebrows as he publicly asked the widow of the late BJP bigwig Anantkumar Tejaswini to take the plunge into politics.

He made the comments at a programme entitled ‘Anant Naman’, the death anniversary of the former Union Minister, in Bengaluru on Saturday. On the occasion, he also heaped praise on Anantkumar, going so far as to claim that the Cauvery river water issue would have been settled had the BJP leader been alive.

The Deputy CM argued that the former Bengaluru South MP would have been a key negotiator as he was an ‘ajashatru’ or one without an enemy. Tejaswini Anantkumar was widely expected to be fielded from the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency in 2019 because it had been vacated by her late husband.

However, Tejasvi Surya eventually contested and won from the seat. She had also flown to New Delhi and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi back in July but that appears to have not yielded any results for her.

Earlier in the month, she called upon Shivakumar, triggering speculation that she might land the Congress ticket for Bengaluru South in next year’s Lok Sabha elections. Regarding her fondly as a sister, the Karnataka Congress chief said that it was time for her to venture into politics.

“My sister Tejaswini must be courageous and move further into politics. Having spent a lifetime with Anantkumar and having raised a family with him, you have a sound understanding of politics. You must venture into politics,” Shivakumar appealed to her.

“There is a great force behind you and society regards you well. Come forward and protect the followers who have put their trust in you,” he added.

Shivakumar said that he was very fond of Anantkumar despite the political rivalry, adding that he would have been a robust voice for Karnataka in the Cauvery dispute.

“Had Anantkumar been alive, the Cauvery dispute wouldn’t have come to this stage for any reason. He was one without an enemy,” he said, adding that the BJP leader had handed him Rs 5,000 to help him contest polls in the electoral debut of 1985.

The Deputy CM also credited Anantkumar and former Congressman and Chief Minister SM Krishna for the Metro Rail project becoming a reality in Bengaluru. Apart from Tejaswini Anantkumar, former CM BS Yediyurappa also participated in the programme.