The rift between former prime minister H D Deve Gowda’s sons H D Kumaraswamy and H D Revanna over the Hassan Assembly constituency ticket seems to be widening.
Revanna has threatened to field his wife Bhavani as an Independent if she is denied the JD(S) ticket, a top source in the party said. Kumaraswamy is not in favour of fielding Bhavani.
Hassan has become a bone of contention for JD(S). Revanna is determined to wrest the seat from BJP’s Preetham J Gowda.
Apparently, Revanna’s family is “blackmailing” Kumaraswamy of contesting independently, if Bhavani is denied the ticket.
While Revanna and Kumaraswamy have maintained that there is no confusion over the Hassan ticket, sources said the matter is far from being settled.
Kumaraswamy, however, said he is clear on his stand that a party worker must get the ticket and his preference is former MLA H S Prakash’s son H P Swaroop.
“I stand by my decision of fielding a party worker from Hassan and we will be releasing the second list of candidates in a couple of days. It will have Hassan also,” Kumaraswamy said.
Speaking to DH, a senior leader close to Kumaraswamy said, “Revanna and his family are blackmailing Kumaraswamy that Bhavani will contest independently from Hassan. It is not so much about Bhavani, but it is against Kumaraswamy’s decision to field Swaroop, who may be a hurdle for the political growth of Revanna’s sons in Hassan district.”
A senior leader, however, said that any rebellion from Revanna will be a “plus point to the party” as it will be seen as Kumaraswamy not favouring a family member and instead supporting a party worker.
‘Blackmail tactics’
At a recent news conference, Kumaraswamy said - without taking anybody’s name - that he will not care for “blackmail tactics”. He said this after meeting Swaroop.