JOIN USKarnataka Elections: Two families rule the roost in Holenarsipur segment
Members of two families rule the roost in the Holenarsipur Assembly segment of Hassan district. The father-son duo of former prime minister H D Deve Gowda and former minister and MLA H D Revanna of the JD(S) have won 11 elections since 1962, while both were defeated once each. Together they have contested all elections, except two, since the first election in 1952 up to 2018. Revanna is contesting his seventh poll this time in 2023.
The other family is that of former minister G Puttaswamy Gowda, who contested four elections (1985, 1989, 1994 and 2004), while his daughter-in-law S G Anupama contested two elections (2008 and 2013). This time, in 2023, her son K M Shreyas Patel is the Congress candidate. Puttaswamy Gowda, who was a companion of Deve Gowda in local politics, served as MLC from 1978 to 1984.
Vokkaliga majority
Revanna alone has won five elections and lost one so far. Except for A Doddegowda, who defeated Revanna in the 1999 election, all MLAs and defeated candidates of winnable parties, since 1962 have been Vokkaligas. Vokkaligas are a majority, with over 60 per cent of the electorate. A decade before, in 1989, G Puttaswamy Gowda, as Congress candidate, had defeated Deve Gowda. In 1985, he lost to Deve Gowda as an Independent.
The first general election in the segment was won by A G Ramachandra Rao of Congress in 1952. Y Veerappa of Praja Socialist Party defeated Rao in 1957.
Old friends
Recalling the friendship between Deve Gowda and Puttaswamy Gowda in the erstwhile Janata Party, political observer H V Suresh Kumar said they had entered into an agreement that no one from their families would enter politics, till they were alive.
“However, Revanna contested the erstwhile Zilla Parishad election and won it in the early 1980s. Thus, Puttaswamy Gowda, who was then an MLC, broke away and joined the Congress. However, he was not given a ticket in the 1985 poll, as then KPCC president K H Patil favoured Deve Gowda. So, Puttaswamy Gowda contested as an Independent and emerged second, with a margin of just 3,167 votes. Congress official candidate T L Krishna Kumar secured just 2,246 votes,” he said.
Rebel wins
“Favouritism of Patil was noticed by Congress high-command and he was relieved of the responsibility. The Congress high command gave a ticket to Puttaswamy Gowda in the 1989 poll. Then, Deve Gowda was a powerful PWD and Irrigation minister in Ramakrishna Hegde-led and S R Bommai-led Janata Party governments. Then KPCC president Veerendra Patil promised the voters of Holenarsipur that Puttaswamy Gowda will be given the same portfolio of Irrigation, as Deve Gowda, if they elect him. Thus, Puttaswamy Gowda served as Irrigation Minister, when he implemented several projects in Hassan district, including Holenarsipur taluk,” Suresh Kumar recalled.
He pointed out that the gratitude of the people of Halli Mysore hobli towards Puttaswamy Gowda caused their inclusion in Arkalgud Assembly segment in the 2004 delimitation, even though Halli Mysore is 36 km away from Arkalgud town. “Dudda (48 km away) and Shanthigrama (28 km away) hoblis of Hassan taluk were included in Holenarsipur segment, to compensate this. It is deemed that people of villages under Halli Mysore hobli vote for Puttaswamy Gowda’s family out of gratitude for implementing irrigation projects, while Vokkaliga-dominated villages of Dudda and Shanthigrama hoblis favour Deve Gowda’s family,” he said.
Saligrama daughters
Puttaswamy Gowda’s son Mahesh died early. Thus, Anupama contested the polls after the death of her father-in-law, against Revanna. Incidentally, both Anupama and Revanna’s wife Bhavani is from Saligrama in the neighbouring KR Nagar taluk.
KPCC president D K Shivakumar and his brother and MP D K Suresh are backing Congress candidate Shreyas Patel strongly, as he is closely related to them, through his wife. The BJP candidate is likely to be advocate Devarajegowda, who is fighting a case of false information in the election affidavit, against Revanna’s son and Hassan MP Prajwal, before the High Court.