My son Nikhil is a politician first: Kumaraswamy

Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy who had proudly launched his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy into the world of glitz and glamour, has now claimed that his son doesn't really belong to the film industry.

He said that Nikhil was more of a politician than an actor.

This was Kumaraswamy's response to a question on his continued dismissal and derision of film actors entering politics.

Be it actor turned politician Ramya or late actor-politician Ambareesh, Kumaraswamy has taken digs at them by claiming that they aren't serious politicians.

His partymen continue to take pot shots at actor Sumalatha Ambareesh, who has entered the fray as an Independent candidate in the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, opposite Nikhil.

The JD(S) leaders from Mandya also haven't spared actors Yash and Darshan, who have stood in support of Sumalatha.

So how does he find it convenient to pull down actors, when his son himself is one?

"Nikhil not an artiste. Films is his secondary profession. He is from a political family -- not the film industry. Politics is in his blood.

Nikhil is somebody who likes to be among people. He knows and understands the plight of the people," he said, during an interaction with DH and Prajavani on Friday.

So, will Nikhil stop acting in films if he gets elected as an MP in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections?

“It’s not that he should not act in films in future. But people’s work comes first. Take my own example. I am a film distributor basically. I was suddenly brought into politics and people accepted me. Nikhil might be an actor. But I am of the belief that the people will accept him too. When that happens, he might dedicate himself to the people and forsake films. My personal view is that he should continue in films. But my party leaders and workers from Mandya forced him into politics," he said.

Kumaraswamy and his wife Anitha Kumaraswamy, who is a TV serial producer, owner of a channel and an MLA; have taken keen interest in their son Nikhil's film career. They've gone out of the way to promote Nikhil's films, be it Jaguar or Seetharama Kalyana, both in the domestic and international markets.

They had even claimed that Nikhil would not enter politics at this juncture, as he was more focused on films.

Family feud

Nikhil's abrupt foray into electoral politics is, however, seen as a one-upmanship with his cousin Prajwal Revanna, who was guaranteed a ticket from the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency by their grandfather and JD(S) supremo, H D Deve Gowda.

There were always rumours about the feud in the first family, with Gowda's older son, H D Revanna and his wife Bhavani Revanna disgruntled over Kumaraswamy cornering power.

The dispute between the brothers, was out in the open when Revanna's son Prajwal, turned against the party leadership last year.

He had indirectly hit out at Kumaraswamy for scuttling his chances of contesting the 2018 Assembly polls, with his "suitcase and bucket culture" remarks.

Before the matter could escalate any further, Gowda had intervened and assured to field Prajwal during the Lok Sabha elections.

Gowda even vacated his seat, Hassan, for Prajwal.

No sooner than Prajwal's candidature was confirmed earlier this year, Kumaraswamy's camp started floating Nikhil's name as the probable candidate for Mandya.

While Nikhil has no experience in politics, Prajwal has been busy organising the party for over eight years.

Nikhil's effortless entry into electoral politics is said to have further upset Revanna and his family.

Kumaraswamy, however, dismissed these as mere conjecture.

"There is no cold war. We are jointly working for the development of the state. There can never be any differences in my family," he said.