‘H.D. Revanna’ to contest against Prajwal Revanna in Hassan

The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s grandson Prajwal Revanna, who is contesting for the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, has his father and former Minister H.D. Revanna’s namesake in the fray as an opponent.

The former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s grandson Prajwal Revanna, who is contesting for the Hassan Lok Sabha seat, has his father and former Minister H.D. Revanna’s namesake in the fray as an opponent.

H.D. Revanna, 48, a resident of Kodihalli in Dandiganahalli hobli of Channarayapatna taluk, has filed nomination papers as a candidate of the Purvanchala Maha Panchayat Party for the Hassan seat.

This is not his first election. Mr. Revanna contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2009 as an Independent in Hassan and secured 14,447 votes. Interestingly, then, his name was K.D. Revanna. The initials in his name stood for Kodihalli, his village, and Dodde Gowda, his father. Later, he changed his name through the legal process to H.D. Revanna. In the changed name, the ‘H’ stands for Huchche Gowda, his grandfather.

“I changed my initials because ‘K-D’ sounds like a word normally used to refer to villain characters in Kannada movies. Now I am H.D. Revanna,” he told The Hindu over the phone. Again, he contested the Lok Sabha polls in 2014 and secured 6,798 votes.

In the Assembly elections held last year, he contested from the Holenarasipur constituency against the former Minister H.D. Revanna, as a candidate of the Purvanchal Maha Panchayat Party and secured 2,061 votes. Interestingly, in this election, the former Minister H.D. Revanna won by a thin margin of 3,152 votes.

Mr. Revanna, who said he worked as an agricultural labourer, has movable assets worth over ₹8 lakh, including 50 gm of gold. Besides that, he owns one acre and 22 guntas of agricultural land at Sagatavalli. He has studied up to SSLC.

Asked if he faces any pressure to withdraw the nomination papers, he said that on a previous occasion, the former Minister Mr. Revanna’s family members had approached him and requested that he withdraw the papers. He obeyed them, as they promised him some contract work after the election. “But they did not keep the promise. They do not receive phone calls after the polls. Hence, I will not withdraw my nomination papers. I will contest,” he said.