Hassan is the only constituency that the JD(S) has won in Karnataka, however the candidate who won -- HD Deve Gowda's grandson Prajwal Revanna -- has now claimed he wants to step down from his Parliamentarian post despite his massive victory, saying he had no reason to rejoice as the election brought a crushing defeat for 87-year-old HD Deve Gowda. Deve Gowda suffered a massive defeat against BJP's GS Basavaraju in Tumakuru. Prajwal Revanna said on Friday that he has decided to step down from his Parliamentarian post and vacate the seat for his grandfather, HD Deve Gowda.
"My grandfather made so many sacrifices for the people of Karnataka. The party workers and I, we cannot bear the loss. He is the backbone of our party. I have decided to vacate the seat for him and resign. We will celebrate after he wins," Prajwal Revanna told TNM.
Prajwal said that he has no reason to rejoice until he sees his grandfather back in power. He also held talks with JD(S) party workers in Hassan and pleaded with the defeated cadre to work once more for Deve Gowda.
"I have only one request for the party workers. Deve Gowda has to come back to power. He was meant to serve the people. In order to reinstate the gap left by his defeat and in order to build confidence in our party workers, I have made this decision. We will have reason to celebrate once he wins, until then I request them to support my decision," he added.
However, no official call has been taken by the party in this regard, so far. Prajwal Revanna said he will arrive in Bengaluru on Friday afternoon and hold talks with his grandfather HD Deve Gowda and his uncle HD Kumaraswamy regarding his decision to resign. "I am leaving for Bengaluru. I will try to convince my grandfather that it’s the people's choice that he contest from Hassan. I want him to win and so do JD(S) party workers," he added. It is entirely likely that this is just emotional talk and Prajwal will continue to represent Hassan, political observers said.
Deve Gowda lost by a margin of 13,339 votes in Tumakuru. Although it was not his first defeat, it was indeed a severe blow to the party's morale as the JD(S) candidate and CM HD Kumaraswamy's son, NIkhil KUmaraswamy, too, lost the Mandya seat to Sumalatha Ambareesh. By suffering defeat in their bastions, the JD(S) was blown to smithereens this election. JD(S) insiders say that Prajwal Revanna's move is a way the party is still clinging on to hope and that not many party workers are pleased with the patriarch, who chose to further the careers of his grandsons as opposed to safeguard party interests.
"We had the chance to win. We held Mandya for so many decades. We could have won it with no difficulty at all had Deve Gowda opted to field a senior politician, nuanced and experienced, from Mandya itself. The brothers Kumaraswamy and HD Revanna sabotaged each other in our turf. With Prajwal sacrificing his seat to his grandfather, he is only hoping that Deve Gowda will appoint him the party's state President when the time is right. He does not want Nikhil to take over at any cost," a source said.