Hassan race hots up as Deve Gowda's daughters-in-law join ticket battle

Anitha Kumaraswamy

Bhavani Revanna

“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”

Leo Tolstoy’s lines could aptly capture the situation in JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda’s family where the rift between brothers HD Revanna and HD Kumaraswamy over the Hassan ticket is already out in the open.

The rift is now said to have extended to Gowda’s daughters-in-law.

While Revanna wants his wife Bhavani to make her Assembly debut from Hassan, Kumaraswamy’s wife Anitha is in the fray, too.

If Bhavani gets Hassan, then Anitha would press for the Tumkur Rural ticket for having given up her Ramanagara seat for her son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, it is learnt.

Anitha said this was a rumour. “I don’t know who is behind these rumours. I’m busy working in Ramanagara and I have no idea about this,” she told DH.

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JD(S) sources say Bhavani wants the ticket because Anitha was allowed to contest Assembly elections twice. Revanna is also trying to project Bhavani as an asset to the JD(S).

The rift culminated in a late Sunday night meeting at Gowda’s Padmanabhanagar residence. The former prime minister could not convince Revanna.

The imbroglio is delaying the release of the party’s second list of candidates for the May 10 election. Plus, Revanna is said to have threatened that Bhavani will contest as an Independent if denied the ticket.

According to sources, Revanna tried to push Bhavani’s name with Gowda. Apparently, Revanna got emotional, too.

Revanna and Bhavani stood their ground. She did not budge even as Gowda offered her an MLC seat. They left in the middle of the meeting.

“A few hours later, Revanna returned alone and the meeting dragged on till late in the night,” a senior leader said.

Revanna, who oversees Hassan politics for the JD(S), is determined to wrest the Hassan Assembly segment from BJP’s Preetham J Gowda who won the seat for the saffron party after a gap of 19 years.

Speaking to DH, Kumaraswamy kept up his stand that a party worker must be the Hassan candidate.

Kumaraswamy is backing former MLA H S Prakash’s son Swaroop for the
ticket.

Kumaraswamy put off the release of the party’s second list of candidates in a last-minute decision.

Sources said Kumaraswamy was summoned by his mother Chennamma.

It is learnt that Revanna is trying to get his wife the ticket through Chennamma.