Bengaluru: Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has launched an interactive initiative, #AskHDK, to connect with students, young professionals and the larger Gen Z ecosystem—a demographic that has increasingly become the focus of all political parties across India.
The 66-year-old two-time chief minister of Karnataka now plans to institutionalise this interactive approach as part of his outreach to youngsters, joining a long list of politicians utilising everything at their disposal to engage with Gen Z.
“This is an attempt to understand what youngsters are thinking and feel the pulse on the ground,” an aide of Kumaraswamy told ThePrint, requesting anonymity.
On Sunday, Kumaraswamy interacted with youngsters, YouTube influencers, lawyers and other sections over a host of issues, including the contentious ones he is trying to champion, hoping to build consensus.
Political parties, including the BJP, have restructured their focus on Gen Z after massive protests over the NEET paper leak snowballed into a flashpoint of strain between youngsters and policymakers in India’s national capital.
People aware of the developments say that Kumaraswamy, like others in the Union Cabinet, is expanding outreach to Gen Z on the instructions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Two senior ministers in the Union Cabinet, Ashwini Vaishnav and Piyush Goyal, have started writing on Substack, the subscription newsletter platform where youngsters, independent journalists and others publish on a wide range of subjects.
Earlier this month, BJP’s national president Nitin Nabin launched a dedicated Gen Z outreach team with Smriti Irani and Vinod Tawde, Gujarat Deputy CM Harsh Sanghavi and Chhattisgarh minister O.P. Choudhary.
Even in his Independence Day speech, Modi reached out to Gen Z (and Gen Alpha) with announcements like an AI push, free coaching for competitive exam training and other initiatives.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi too isn’t far behind with ‘Chaatron ke Goonj’.
However, Kumaraswamy, the Janata Dal (Secular) state president, appears to be the first of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners to put Modi’s orders into effect.
‘Hotbed of corruption’
On Sunday, a little over 50 people participated in #AskHDK. The former Karnataka chief minister even posed for selfies with some of them.
“The interaction focused on the Bengaluru-Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) or NICE project, which is a hotbed of irregularities, the looting of farmers’ land in the guise of the Bidadi Township project and the KPSC scam,” Kumaraswamy said.
Kumaraswamy has spent a better part of the last few months camping in Karnataka, spearheading the protests over BMICP, NICE, KPSC scam and other issues against the D.K. Shivakumar-led Congress government.
His son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, too has been active in leading several public meetings over the issue which his father is leading.
The JD(S) had seen its fortunes dwindle in Karnataka, forcing an alliance with the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Kumaraswamy and his former prime minister father, H.D. Deve Gowda is now trying to rebuild the organisation to retain its identity which is under threat of becoming diluted—or merged—with that of its alliance partner.
With elections for the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), Zilla and Taluk Panchayat among others likely to be held later this year, Kumaraswamy is infusing fresh energy to revive the party’s sagging fortunes and mobilising support.
Support from youngsters would also help shed its image of being a party whose politics is seen as more rural and agrarian focused.
The former chief minister is attempting to use the recent surfacing of irregularities in the Karnataka Public Service Commission (KPSC) to cement his connection with youngsters.
“KPSC is a very important institution for the future of Karnataka. This institution, built and nurtured by many luminaries, is today a hotbed of corruption. This institution is constantly committing irregularities in the selection and recruitment of every post,” Kumaraswamy said Sunday.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
Also read: Two Modi govt ministers arrive on Substack as BJP dips its toes in a Gen Z stronghold