JD(S) may settle for Gowda kin in Mandya by-election

The JD(S), which in all likelihood will get to contest from the Mandya Lok Sabha segment with Congress’ support, might end up fielding somebody from the H D Deve Gowda family.

Though former IRS officer Lakshmi Ashwin Gowda and former legislator L R Shivarame Gowda are strongly vying for the ticket, the JD(S) might not consider their candidature.

While names of Deve Gowda’s grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy have been doing the rounds, a third contender from the family has emerged in the
race.

Sources said Transport Minister D C Thammanna’s son D T Santhosh has sought the ticket from the constituency. Thammanna’s daughter Dr Soumya is married to Deve Gowda’s youngest son Dr Ramesh, making him part of the Gowda family.

It is learnt that Soumya is building pressure on the family to field her younger brother Santhosh in the by-poll.

According to sources, the party feels that it will be better placed to quell dissidence from other ticket aspirants, if one of the family members is fielded.

The party anticipates trouble from Shivarame Gowda if Lakshmi is fielded or vice versa. The argument is, if Prajwal, Nikhil or Santhosh is fielded, the said leaders may fall
in line.

Prajwal is PWD Minister H D Revanna’s son, while Nikhil, an actor, is Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son. Prajwal is keen on entering electoral politics ever since the Assembly elections.

Though Nikhil’s parents aren’t too keen on their son entering politics at this juncture, owing to his film career, the actor himself recently conceded that the party workers are insisting that he make his electoral debut.

Incidentally, the party has zeroed in on Nikhil’s mother Anitha to contest the Ramanagar Assembly by-poll.

The Vokkaliga heartland, Mandya, is a JD(S) bastion. The party swept all seven Assembly segments in the May elections. Not just that. The party’s presence is strongly felt across the district as its leaders are at the helm in the local bodies, the cooperative and the banking sector.

While the party is confident of bagging the seat, a voice of dissent has emerged from the Congress, with its defeated Nagamangala candidate Cheluvarayaswamy taking exception to his party’s decision to ally with the JD(S) in Mandya.

He wants the party to field a candidate, instead of letting the JD(S) take over.

The Congress, however, lacks leadership in Mandya, especially after the exit of actor-turned-politician
Ambareesh from active politics. Another actor-turned-politician and former MP Ramya too is unlikely to re-enter the district politics any time soon.