Bungalow dispute: Siddaramaiah & Yediyurappa battle over Cauvery house

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, after occupying Cauvery Bungalow for six years, was asked to vacate premises but has w engd in a battle of bungalows with current Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa who has allotted Cauvery Bungalow to himself. 

bone of contention is Cauvery Bungalow, located on a one-acre plot in plush Kumarakrupa locality and joining Krishna, official home office of Chief Minister of Karnataka. 

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Where have previous Chief Ministers lived?

While re is fixed bungalow earmarked for Chief Minister in Bengaluru, of available residences, each of Chief Ministers' have chosen different ones for mselves. 

When HD Kumaraswamy was Chief Minister for first time during 2006-07, he occupied Anugraha Bungalow. Sources in JDS say that Kumaraswamy h deemed Cauvery unlucky as it was same residence where, in 1990, n Chief Minister Veerendra Patil’s health deteriorated and he lost his position as state's CM.

Yediyurappa, in his first stint as CM, h chosen to stay at bungalow #2 on Racecourse Ro between 2008-11. This was same bungalow he h occupied when he was leer of opposition and n Deputy Chief Minister he continued living re. 

His successors, Sananda Gowda and Jagish Shettar h lived at Anugraha and Cauvery bungalows respectively. 

Siddaramiah h been allotted Cauvery residence when he took over as Chief Minister in 2013 and he has continued living re to date. During Kumaraswamy’s second tenure as Chief Minister, he chose t to live in a government bungalow and lived at his private residence.

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Why demand for Cauvery Bungalow?

After Yediyurappa became Chief Minister in July 2019, he continued living in his private residence, Dhawalagiri in upmarket Dollors Colony. Many h predicted that he may want to move into his ‘lucky charm’ bungalow, #2 Racecourse ro which was n occupied by former minister Sa Ra Mahesh. 

decision to allot Cauvery to Yediyurappa h taken many by surprise as Department of Personnel and ministrative (DPAR) is under Chief Minister. Sources in CMO claim that re were two reasons why Yediyurappa preferred Cauvery over his lucky bungalow this time.

first is a logistical issue-Cauvery has an internal entrance into Krishna which is Chief Minister’s office. So by that account, living in Cauvery will make it easier for 76-year old Yediyurappa to attend to hectic schedule that job entails and also t cause public nuisance over traffic restrictions. 

second reason is astrology- some close associates of Chief Minister reportedly pointed to fact that Siddaramaiah, after a gap of over 35 years, mand to complete a full term as Chief Minister while he lived at Cauvery. 

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Where does situation stand currently?

When coalition government came to power, Cauvery was allotted to senior minister K J George. After Siddaramaiah insisted on continuing to live re, K J George has written a letter to DPAR seeking permission of a month to vacate. 

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah who was recently appointed leer of opposition has asked to continue living at same bungalow, a request DPAR has rejected so far.

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