The stage is set for the political debut of Nikhil Gowda, son of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy. The JD(S) leadership, the father-son duo of H D Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy, on Sunday made it apparent that Nikhil would contest from Mandya in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.
The party’s indication comes days after Sumalatha, wife of late actor-politician Ambareesh, said she aspired to contest from Mandya on a Congress ticket. Nikhil’s candidature will mark the entry of Gowda’s second grandson into electoral politics, as the JD(S) patriarch said in Mangaluru on Sunday that Prajwal Revanna will contest from Hassan.
Defending ‘dynastic politics’, Kumaraswamy said in Shivamogga that there is nothing wrong if politicians’ children enter politics just the way the children of IAS officers follow in their parents’ footsteps. He said Nikhil had expressed his willingness to contest from Mandya, which “will be left to a JD(S) candidate”.
Though Congress and JD(S) have decided to fight the parliamentary polls together, they are yet to finalise a seat-sharing arrangement. The coalition coordination committee will meet on Monday to discuss the issue.
“Some MLAs of Mandya district, considering my achievements, opine that the district will be well developed if someone from my family is fielded in the constituency.“The candidate will be from the JD(S). If Nikhil wants to contest from Mandya, he will not run away to Mysuru. Ours is a family of fighters. We don’t back off. Our family knows the pulse of the people of Mandya,” Kumaraswamy told reporters in Shivamogga.
In Mangaluru, Deve Gowda said he tried to dissuade his grandsons from entering politics but Prajwal started actively working in Hassan.“Now, Nikhil has also started showing keen interest in politics and people urge him to contest from Mandya. He shouldn’t feel that I am promoting only Prajwal, so I have given my consent to him as well,” he said.
Gowda said it was not wrong for anyone to want to contest elections, but Mandya and Hassan were JD(S) bastions. He was replying to a question about Sumalatha too being an aspirant.“It is not that I am promoting family politics. Everyone knows that we are not traditionally a political family but an agrarian one.”Asked about he contesting parliamentary elections, he said that it was not important. He had been a parliamentarian for 27 years and had been a Prime Minister too.
“The ultimate goal is stopping BJP from gaining strength in the state. BJP has no big presence in South India and it is important to stop them from gaining ground,” he said.Criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said he always presented himself as the strongest leader and boasted that he had given a stable government. “Even Vajpayee (later former PM) had given a stable government in spite of having a coalition of 23 parties and so did Manmohan Singh for ten years with a coalition,” he said.
During his tenure as prime minister he had visited Kashmir five times and the situation was more peaceful then. In last five years, Kashmir which had seen four governments, had finally come under governor rule.
‘Many factors in my favour’
Nikhil Gowda seems a confident young man. He tells Bansy Kalappa that there are many factors in his favour. “Firstly, all the eight assembly segments have JD(S) MLAs and secondly since we are in a coalition government, there is additional Congress support for my candidature. Thirdly, my father and Chief Minister Kumaraswamy’s connect with the people of Mandya is very good.”
Agencies
