Kumaraswamy to visit jinxed town on May 27

Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy is all set to shatter the myth surrounding Chamarajanagar town by becoming the first Chief Minister of the State in the last 17 years to visit the jinxed town situated at the southern tip of the state.

Ever since the late Chief Minister Veerendra Patil lost power after visiting Chamarajanagar town in 1990, all his successors have consciously and deliberately steered clear of the place, which known in political circles as the “graveyard of chief ministers”.

But, Kumaraswamy, who has received accolades for staying overnight in the houses of HIV-afflicted patient, Dalits and other poor and underprivileged families, is determined the break the political jinx by staying overnight at Badagalmole village in Chamarajanagar on May 27.

According to Minister in charge of Chamarajanagar H S Mahadev Prasad, the Chief Minister will arrive in Chamarajanagar around 4.30 pm on May 27 and proceed to Badagalmole village, about 20 kms from the town, for his overnight stay. During his visit to Chamarajanagar, Kumaraswamy is scheduled to launch developmental works worth Rs 3 billion.

Though the Chief Minister’s much-publicised visit to Chamarajanagar assumes significance in view of the jinx surrounding the town, which is also the headquarters of the Chamarajanagar district situated on Karnataka’s border with Tamil Nadu, it is also worth mentioning here that Kumaraswamy is scheduled to demit office in about four months time on October 3 as part of the power-sharing arrangement between the JD (S) and BJP.

But, for the people of Chamarajanagar, they will be receiving a Chief Minister for the first time in the last 17 years.

Chamarajanagar came to be regarded as a jinxed town after three Chief Ministers lost power within months of their visit to the town. It began with Karnataka’s longest serving Chief Minister D Devaraj Urs losing power after visiting Chamarajanagar. His Government was toppled by late Chief Minister R Gundu Rao.

Next, it was the turn of late Chief Minister Ramakrishna Hegde, who had resign from the post after being entangled in a scam in 1988. Later, Chief Minister Veerendra Patil was unceremoniously removed from the post by the Congress High Command weeks after he paid a visit to Chamarajanagar in 1990.
Since 1990, no Chief Minister had dared to tread upon the soil of Chamarajanagar. None of Veerendra Patil’s successors or Kumaraswamy’s predecessors, who held the reins of power in Karnataka, have visited Chamarajanagar