Gowda Families Political Rivalries Enter Third-Generation In 2024

By Fnf correspondent | PUBLISHED: 11, Apr 2024, 21:31 pm IST | UPDATED: 11, Apr 2024, 21:31 pm IST

The political equations in Karnataka have turned upside down this election with the JDS joining hands with the BJP against the ruling Congress. The BJP is contesting on 25 seats while the JDS on three seats. Among these three seats are Hassan. The longstanding political rivalry spanning four decades between two influential families takes centre stage once more in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. This time, the spotlight falls on Hassan, historically significant as the former capital of the Hoysala kingdom, where third-generation members from both families vie for electoral victory.

Hassan lies partly in the 'Malnad' tract and in the southern plains. It gave the country its first Kannadiga Prime Minister - H D Deve Gowda. During the 1980s and 1990s, HD Deve Gowda, the former Prime Minister, and G Puttaswamy Gowda, a former minister, held sway over district politics. Deve Gowda, a prominent leader of the Janata Party and subsequently Janta Dal, now represents the JDS. Meanwhile, Gowda was a notable figure within the local Congress. Both commanded support from the Vokkaligas, Karnataka's second-largest community. Their political rivalry initially centred on the assembly seat of Holenarasipur before expanding to contest the Hassan Lok Sabha seat.

Fast forward to 2024, and the grandsons of these political stalwarts are making their presence felt. Prajwal Revanna (33), the incumbent MP and grandson of the former Prime Minister, is running as the NDA candidate, while Shreyas Patel (31), the grandson of Gowda, is the nominee for the Congress party.

In 1985, Puttaswamy Gowda, denied the Congress ticket from the Holenarasipura assembly segment, contested as an independent candidate against Deve Gowda of the erstwhile Janata Party, but faced defeat. However, as the Congress candidate, he emerged victorious against Deve Gowda in the 1989 Assembly election and also in the 1999 Lok Sabha election from Hassan. Puttaswamy Gowda also experienced defeat against Deve Gowda's son and former Minister H D Revanna, a six-time MLA from Holenarasipura, in the 1994 and 2004 Assembly polls. Furthermore, his daughter-in-law, S G Anupama, unsuccessfully contested against Revanna in the 2008 and 2013 Assembly polls. Last year, Shreyas Patel also contested against Revanna in Holenarasipura in the assembly polls on a Congress ticket but lost by 3,152 votes.