With a bad electoral performance last year, JDS lost a major share of its vote bank. And now aged HD Deve Gowda and Kumaraswamy faced humiliation through an ugly sex scandal of Deve Gowda’s grandson Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna that came into light just ahead of LS polls. However, the Gowda family and JD(S) proved everyone wrong. Not only JD(S) has bounced back but JD(S) state President HD Kumaraswamy holds a very significant portfolio of Steel and heavy industry ministry as a Cabinet Minister in Modi’s newly formed government.
HD Kumaraswamy’s political journey has remained like swimming against the tide always, whether it was the first time he won as an MP from the Kanakapura Lok Sabha seat in 1996 or the Mandya Lok Sabha seat he won this time. People say that he rises like a phoenix each time he loses a battle, just like his father Deve Gowda. The Gowda family has attained power with such low numbers. Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda are least bothered about electoral setbacks. Gowda earned respect for his personality among party workers. The family has a good fortune and many feel the success of the family with the party staying afloat is because of the divine power.
Gowda faced humiliating losses in Holenarasipura and Kanakpura constituencies in the 1989 assembly polls, however, he returned to become Chief Minister 5 years later and PM in 1996 with just 16 MPs. In 1994 Gowda-led JD(S) secured a majority and Gowda became CM. With merely 10 seats in 1999 JDS won 58 seats in 2004 which helped HD Kumaraswamy to become Chief Minister of a BJP-JDS coalition government. Despite JDS winning just 38 seats Kumaraswamy became Chief Minister again in 2018. Even now Kumaraswamy has become Union Minister although his party has only two MPs. Kumaraswamy after appointing in the Modi Cabinet spoke with the media and said, “For me, working for the welfare of Karnataka and the whole country is important. I would like to meet the expectations of the people of Karnataka through my work as a Union Minister.”