Prajwal Revanna conviction fallout for JD(S) | Powertrip #119

Welcome to this week’s Powertrip, a political newsletter exclusively curated for TNM and NL subscribers. In this week’s newsletter, Pooja Prasanna, Nandini Chandrasekhar, and Nidheesh MK write on how the JD(S) is fumbling in Hassan after Prajwal’s conviction. From Telangana, we tell you how KCR has cut his daughter off. Only his wife is allowed to converse with Kavitha. From Kerala, our week’s story is on how and why the Congress is contemplating a list of young faces to contest the elections. .Inside TrackExclusive stories, for your eyes only.JD(S) fumbling in Hassan after Prajwal’s convictionKarnataka’s Hassan district, the bastion of the powerful first family of Janata Dal (Secular)’s HD Deve Gowda, is seeing further unravelling. Deve Gowda’s grandson, Prajwal Revanna – the sitting MP and upcoming star two years ago – is in jail, sentenced to life in prison for rape. In his absence, his elder brother Suraj has been trying to step in and take charge, but has not succeeded. Suraj himself had been accused of rape by a male party worker and a chargesheet has been filed by the police in this matter. Suraj’s father, HD Revanna, still retains the loyalty of party workers, but that has not been transferred to Suraj, especially due to the nature of the case against him. Revanna, too, has not shown any interest in promoting Suraj to handle party affairs at the district level.In the recent elections to the DCC Bank, it was once again the JD(S) party workers who were elected as directors. Suraj, who is also one of the directors, was keen on becoming president, but a quiet word from Deve Gowda opposing it and a similar caution from the now Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy is said to have stopped it. Instead, Nagaraj, a two-time president and a staunch Revanna loyalist, became president again. The JD(S)’s hold on DCC Bank is very strategic to keep its voter base in the district. The party has long been known to disperse loans from the bank to farmers, and as soon as the opportunity presents itself, the loans are waived.Hassan observers say that Suraj, who was lacklustre in his appeal as a politician even before the allegations against the brothers surfaced, is now restricted to his own core group of supporters and finds himself unable to garner more support. His attempts to mount a reasonable challenge to Congress MP Shreyas Patel have also failed, as Suraj is viewed as being on the periphery of the JD(S), rather than helming it. The upcoming local body polls are also expected to make a serious dent in the party’s hold, with the Congress expected to reap the benefits.Even during the recent Hassan Ganesha procession accident, in which 10 people were killed, Suraj was at the spot immediately, but it was his cousin, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who spoke for the JD(S) and was seen interacting with everyone and received maximum mileage. Congress in Kerala to field fresh faces?The Congress in Kerala is hoping to inject youthful energy, fresh faces, and a sprinkling of celebrities as it gears up for the 2026 Assembly polls. The shortlist circulating within party circles leans heavily on first-time candidates and younger voices.If it materialises, it will be an echo of the 2021 experiment, when more than half the slate was under 50 and new to the fray. That gamble, however, failed to pay off. Riding on the social capital built during the post-flood and post-Covid years, the Left swept the field, leaving Congress with just 21 seats and its alliance with 40 of the total 140 seats.This time, among the names creating a buzz in Kochi: actor-comedian and Congress supporter Ramesh Pisharody, although he is yet to commit; Henry Austin Jr, not a heavyweight in his own right, but carries both an influential surname and church connections as the grandson of a former Union Minister, which could resonate in the constituency’s Christian-majority landscape.Palakkad is set for an interesting experiment. With sitting MLA Rahul Mamkootathil suspended amid allegations of sexual misconduct, the party is considering replacing him with Sandeep Varier, a recent BJP defector. The move is part reputation rehab and part attempt to woo a voter base that has heavily drifted toward the BJP in recent polls.The leadership is also exploring ticket swaps, recalibrating minority equations and considering Youth Congress leaders such as Rijil Makkutty and JS Akhil.Other first-timers being rumoured include Jyothi Vijayakumar in Chengannur (a former journalist who came to prominence translating Rahul Gandhi’s speeches), Mathew Antony in Kanjirappally (younger generation from a prominent political family), Mohammed Shiyas in Kalamassery (a close associate of Congress’ Opposition leader VD Satheesan), and Raju P Nair in Tripunithura (the Ernakulam DCC general secretary who has been the party’s visible face in television debates). These names were first reported by The New Indian Express on Thursday. Yet, despite these changes, the Congress faces familiar hurdles. Factional wrangling, last-minute ticket decisions, and the perennial struggle to project cohesion could undermine the party’s strategy. As Rahul Gandhi once quipped in Kochi, the biggest enemy of the Congress in Kerala is none other than the Congress itself. Silence at home, caution in party: BRS shuts ranks on KavithaAfter the big exit of K Kavitha from the BRS, we learn that there has been a complete communication breakdown within the family. The only exception is her mother, Shobha Rao, who continues to stay in touch with both Kavitha and her brother KTR, though politics remains strictly off-limits in those conversations.In an effort to ease tensions, a delegation of BRS leaders, mainly from the Velama community and led by former MP and family relative Vinod Kumar, has been reaching out to Kavitha. Their appeal has been for patience until party chief KCR outlines a role for her, and to avoid engaging with BRS’s political opponents in the meantime. Despite repeated attempts, they have apparently not been able to make headway.Meanwhile, BRS leaders have reportedly been informally advised not to respond to any overtures from Kavitha regarding political alignment..Zero HourA political story of public importance.No handshakes, big revenues: Indian cricket board’s Pakistan pieties.It is trying to appease its hyper-nationalist audience at home while simultaneously serving the interests of a global cricket economy..PowermovesTop 5 political storiesBindhu Ammini: The woman who entered Sabarimala and was forced to leave KeralaTamil Nadu govt issues strict guidelines to curb caste bias in schoolsEC serves notice to Kota Neelima a day after BJP's allegations, she calls it vendettaDevelopment’s shadow: How Karnataka projects impact Adivasi land Questions raised over appointment of former Upa Lok Ayukta who absolved Kerala CM

Prajwal Revanna conviction fallout for JD(S) | Powertrip #119

Subscriber Picks