Nikhil Kumaraswamy: Scion of Gowda clan hopes to break out of ‘Chakravyuha’ this time

Nikhil Kumaraswamy faces high expectations in Channapatna by-election as he aims to secure his political future.

Nikhil Kumaraswamy, grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Devegowda and touted to be the future leader of Janata Dal (Secular), carries the burden of high expectations in what seems to be a see-saw battle that he has been pitchforked into at Channapatna.

Amid a show of strength, he has entered the fray as the NDA candidate to take on the heavyweight and former five-time MLA C.P. Yogeshwar, who has played a political gamble by returning to Congress from BJP after being denied ticket there. Incidentally, both have had careers in films before turning to politics.

The outcome of the Channapatna byelection is being keenly watched to assess Mr. Nikhil’s move in the political graph and his future in leadership role in politics, and in the party in particular. He is currently the President of JD(S) youth wing. Mr. Nikhil’s father and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, who vacated the Channapatna seat after his victory in Mandya in the 2024 Parliamentary elections, is also believed to be anxious about his son’s political future, which hinges heavily on this election. His cousins — Prajwal Revanna and Suraj Revanna — are facing criminal charges, leaving their political careers in a jeopardy.

Seen as a ‘reluctant politician’ from the beginning of his career, the actor-turned-politician has taken a plunge ‘under pressure’ from party workers this time, and was said to be wary of contesting in the changed political landscape. In a high-stakes battle that will be loaded with strategic political moves, Mr. Nikhil will be testing waters in electoral politics for the third time. Congress leaders led by Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and his brother D.K. Suresh, who have been at odds with Mr. Kumaraswamy, are expected to roll their dice against him.

In his debut election in 2019, as the candidate of the ruling JD(S)-Congress alliance headed by his father H.D. Kumaraswamy, Mr. Nikhil lost the battle to another actor-turned-politician, M. Sumalatha, in the Mandya Lok Sabha seat. Ms. Sumalatha is the wife of popular Kannada actor, late Ambareesh, and was backed by the BJP then.

In the 2023 Assembly elections, he failed to win the Ramanagara seat that had been vacated by his mother Anitha Kumaraswamy. Both times, the party blamed those opposed to Mr. Gowda’s family aligning against Mr. Nikhil to ensure his defeat.

Mr. Nikhil first shot to infamy as a teenager when he and two of his friends were involved in a bitter brawl at a popular eatery on Church Street in 2006 during his father’s maiden tenure as Chief Minister. However, till his launch as a film star in the Kannada flick Jaguar in 2016, he more or less remained away from the spotlight.