Drought vs development: Can DK Shivakumar evade the ‘SM Krishna trap’?
Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar is navigating a political challenge as the state faces a severe drought. He must balance urgent rural relief efforts with his commitment to urban infrastructure projects to avoid the electoral pitfalls that affected his mentor, SM Krishna.
Why it matters
It illustrates the classic political dilemma of balancing urban development with rural agrarian needs in a developing economy.
BENGALURU: As the state stares at a potential drought, with monsoon rainfall running 60% below normal in several taluks, chief minister DK Shivakumar faces an administrative and political challenge that carries striking echoes of his mentor, the late SM Krishna.Shivakumar has already sounded the alarm, advising farmers to delay sowing and warning that reservoir water should be conserved for drinking. The crisis has brought rural distress back to the centre of Karnataka’s political discourse, reviving memories of the 1999–2004 period. For Congress veterans, the parallel is inescapable. Krishna’s tenure as CM coincided with successive, devastating droughts. While his administration successfully laid the foundation for Bengaluru’s global tech stature, political opponents weaponised this success. They branded Krishna an urban, “suit-boot” CM who prioritised IT hubs over parched farmlands.
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