Bengaluru: Out of power for the last 10 years and set to face Assembly polls in less than a year, the grand old politician of Karnataka-H.D. Deve Gowda- is facing a piquant situation. Should he go it alone in the Assembly polls in 2018 and risk the danger of being restricted to a handful of seats or strike a pact with the Congress party albeit indirectly?
With son H.D. Kumaraswamy pulling in the opposite direction and turning his back on any tie-up with the Congress, it is no easy time for the former prime minister who has to contend with the pulls and pressures of family politics. Considering the current situation, Gowda is keeping the cards close to his chest as he knows he could play the role of kingmaker in case of a fractured verdict and extract his pound of flesh from the major players-Congress or BJP.
On the family front, he has restored a sense of unity by announcing that son H.D. Kumaraswamy will be the CM candidate and it will only be Kumaraswamy and Revanna who will contest the polls, wrecking any hopes Revanna’s wife Bhavani had of entering the Assembly. This is a victory for Kumaraswamy who was wary of family members of Revanna taking the plunge as his son Nikhil has shied away from politics preferring a career in films instead.
With Bhavani out of the picture, her son Prajwal has started getting active in Hassan, Deve Gowda’s home turf, nursing Belur Assembly constituency and addressing issues in his grandfather's parliamentary constituency, much to Kumaraswamy’s discomfort.
In what is considered a subtle deal between father and son, Gowda has assured his son that the Revanna family’s sway will be restricted to Hassan with Bhavani heading Hassan Zilla Panchayat and Prajwal likely to succeed him as the JD(S) candidate in Hassan Lok Sabha constituency.
The coming polls will prove if the JD(S can survive by maintaining equi-distance from both BJP and Congress at least in public. To play it safe, Gowda maintains a good relationship with his former associate, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah while BJP leaders like R Ashok are in constant touch with Kumaraswamy. All because if a coalition is the only option after the Assembly polls, the JD(S) would definitely love to be back in Vidhana Soudha, even as a junior partner to the Congress or BJP.
