Karnataka's new chief minister H D Kumaraswamy is a superstitious man

Karnataka’s new Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is a superstitious man. He’s very particular about rahu kala (an inauspicious period of the day) during which he does not step out or embark on any new project or programme. Even in the four days leading up to him taking oath as CM, he visited 10 temples, one dargah and one church, including one in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. Soon after his appointment to the post, he is said to have raised an issue with Anugraha, the official residence of the chief minister of Karnataka, not being vaastu compliant. He is considering moving into Chief Secretary K Ratna Prabha’s official bungalow — which has five bedrooms and is east-facing — once her term ends on June 30.

Friendly foes

This seems to be a season of politicians trying to rise above their party’s political considerations. If on Wednesday Home Minister Rajnath Singh became the first leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party to wish the newly-elected Karnataka Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister, on Thursday he also became the first from the government to express his deep pain at the loss of lives in the anti-Sterlite agitation in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu. But the day belonged to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who tweeted her birthday greetings to Kerala counterpart and arch-rival Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Pinarayi Vijayan. “Birthday greetings to Chief Minister of Kerala Pinarayi Vijayan,” she said. On Wednesday, the two were among the leaders who had attended the oath-taking ceremony of H D Kumaraswamy in Bengaluru.

The boss speaks first

As the National Democratic Alliance  government completes four years in power, all ministers were advised to hold press conferences to present their achievements before the media. Telecom minister Manoj Sinha was supposed to meet the press on May 23 and power minister RK Singh on May 24. Both the press conferences were cancelled at the last minute purportedly on communication from the Bharatiya Janata Party headquarters that party president Amit Shah would speak about the government’s accomplishments first and then various ministers would be lined up to speak to the media according to their seniority.