Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy will be sworn in as a Cabinet minister in the Narendra Modi 3.0 government and is likely to get the Agriculture portfolio. While Kumaraswamy has never held the position of an Agriculture minister, this appointment marks a pivotal moment for both Kumaraswamy and his party, JD(S), which has consistently positioned itself as a pro-farmer party.
HD Kumaraswamy won from Karnataka’s Mandya constituency in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. He was competing against the Congress’s Venkataramane Gowda and won by a margin of 2,84,620 votes. Even during his campaigning for the Lok Sabha Elections, Kumaraswamy reiterated many times that he was contesting the elections for “the welfare of farmers and poor and not for personal gains.”
The JD(S) has a stronghold in Karnataka, particularly in the Cauvery basin districts like Mandya, Hassan, and Mysore. Securing the agriculture ministry will go a long way in them trying to push that pro agriculture image in Karnataka.
The Cauvery River water dispute between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, is a recurring topic on which the JD(S) has leveraged to garner political support many times. During the water scarcity and drought like conditions in various parts of Karnataka early this year, Kumaraswamy had consistently lashed at the ruling Congress government for releasing Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu. He had also alleged that the Congress was going soft on the Tamil Nadu government on the Cauvery issue to strengthen them as INDIA bloc allies.
It is to be seen how Kumaraswamy's new position might affect the existing water-sharing agreements between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.