Is Hassan sex scandal the end of Bhavani Revanna’s political ambitions?

With JD(S) MLA HD Revanna behind bars and his MP son Prajwal Revanna on the run, it’s the turn of the senior Revanna’s politically ambitious wife Bhavani to face legal heat.

While Prajwal has been accused of raping scores of women and filming them in the act, his father has been accused of kidnapping at least one of the victims. It is suspected that Bhavani, too, may have been in the know of the alleged rapes and kidnappings though the police have no strong evidence against her yet.

Many within and outside the now beleaguered Janata Dal (Secular) feel that the dramatic developments have put an end to the political career of HD Deve Gowda’s eldest daughter-in-law.

Political family

Though several members of HD Deve Gowda’s extended family are in politics, it has become more than evident now that the two main factions in the party, led by brothers HD Revanna and former Karnataka chief minister HD Kumaraswamy respectively, are at war.

According to a former JD(S) minister, HD Revanna has less ambition and was only focusing on Hassan politics compared to his brother HD Kumaraswamy, who has national ambitions.

Jealousy within

However, Bhavani, who is originally from KR Nagar in Mysuru district, harboured political ambitions of her own. After Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita became an MLA, she reportedly got upset with her father-in-law Deve Gowda for not giving her a chance in politics.

Though her husband HD Revanna was always a powerful minister in JD(S) coalition governments, he was never considered for the post of chief minister.

Ambitious Bhavani

One party leader told The Federal: “Bhavani was very ambitious. She wanted her husband Revanna and sons Suraj and Prajwal to have important positions.”

This created a rift between HD Revanna and HD Kumaraswamy and led to two power centres in the family.

This was evident in the 2019 parliamentary elections when Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil was selected to be the party’s Lok Sabha candidate from Mandya.

Deve Gowda’s sacrifice

Bhavani then reportedly forced her husband to put pressure on Deve Gowda to make her son Prajwal an MP too.

In the process, Deve Gowda gave up his home turf, the Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, to grandson Prajwal and contested the election from Tumkur. While Prajwal won from Hassan, Deve Gowda lost Tumkur.

A family affair

Bhavani’s moves made Hassan a family affair: her son Prajwal is an MP while husband is MLA from Holenarasipur constituency in Hassan district.

The rift between Deve Gowda’s two sons deepened during the 2023 Assembly elections.

Bhavani’s worry was about the importance given to Kumaraswamy’s family in the JD(S). She also moaned that she was not being given a chance to become an MLA — unlike Kumaraswamy’s wife Anita.

Another son-rise

Bhavani then reportedly pressured Deve Gowda through her husband to secure the JD(S) ticket from the Hassan Assembly constituency. But Kumaraswamy eventually prevailed, and the seat was allotted to his confidant Swaroop HS Prakash.

This caused heated discussions between the Revanna family and Kumaraswamy in front of Deve Gowda, a former minister from the JD(S) told The Federal.

To clear up the mess, Bhavani’s younger son Suraj Revanna was made a member of the Legislative Council — the upper house in Karnataka.

Family turbulence

Since Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the former contested from the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency to vacate his Channapatna constituency for Nikhil, the insider added.

The unrelenting Bhavani, eager to rapidly climb the political ladder, became a Zila Panchayat member. “She wanted to have a firm grip on Hassan politics as well as the JD(S),” said a party source.

Sex scandal

This is when the sex scandal involving Prajwal Revanna hit her family like a hurricane.

Even though the JD(S) is busy with damage control, it is not in a position to save the Revanna family from looming disaster.

After HD Revanna’s arrest and Prajwal’s flight from India, Bhavani’s name has also surfaced in the police investigation.

Legal assistance

JD(S) sources say that a chastened Bhavani has sought help from her brother-in-law Kumaraswamy to procure much-needed legal assistance.

Family members have apparently convinced the former chief minister to help the Revannas though Kumaraswamy had detached himself from them after the scandal erupted.

A party leader told The Federal that Kumaraswamy was now trying to help in hiring good advocates for his brother but had made it clear that he would not try to rescue Prajwal due to the heinous charges against him.

Bhavani in trouble

Official sources said Bhavani may be brought into the sex scandal case either as a witness or as an accused.

Already, her names are said to be mentioned in the statements of victims in two FIRs.

Besides HD Revanna, another accused is Satish Babanna, a relative of Bhavani.

The arrests

Apart from Revanna, five persons have been arrested in connection with the kidnapping case, including Satish, HY Sujay, Madhu, Timmappa, and Manu.

The police are recording statements of those accused in the abduction of a 47-year-old sex abuse victim. The police are asking questions about the Revanna family, including Bhavani.

Two notices have been issued to Bhavani to get her statements recorded. But apparently the police are in a dilemma on what action they should take against the woman who once saw herself as the de-facto empress of Hassan.

They have no proof yet of her direct role in the case, but they can take her into custody based on the statements of the accused and the victims. Or, they can rope her in as a witness.