In Karnataka, dynastic politics is not new and party leaders have fielded their sons and daughters. However, the spotlight during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in the State is on the constituencies of Bidar and Hassan, wherein the grandfathers of candidates have made a big mark in politics.
In Bidar constituency, the Congress candidate is Sagar Khandre, grandson of centenarian and Congress leader Bheemanna Khandre. In Hassan, Prajwal Revanna, incumbent JD(S) MP, whom the party has already projected as its candidate though the ticket is yet to be officially issued, is the grandson of 91-year-old former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.
Fourth from family
Mr. Sagar Khadre, 26, is the fourth member of the Khandre family to enter politics. He is the son of Forest Minister Eshwar Khandre. Unlike his father, who holds an engineering degree, Mr. Sagar Khandre holds a law degree like his grandfather. His grandfather was elected to the Legislative Assembly four times and the Legislative Council twice and served as the Minister in the early 1990s in the M. Veerappa Moily-led government. Mr. Bheemanna Khadre was the 20th president of the Akhila Bharat Veerashaiva Mahasabha.
Vijayakumar Khandre, elder brother of Mr. Eshwar Khandre, represented the Bhalki constituency earlier. Currently, Mr. Eshwar Khandre is the chairman of the Shantivardhak Education Society, Bhalki in Bidar district, while Mr. Sagar Khandre is the secretary. The society runs a chain of educational institutions.
Before plunging into politics, Mr. Sagar Khandre served as the secretary of the National Students’ Union of India and looked after the campaign of his father in the 2018 and 2023 Assembly elections.
Grandson vs. grandson
Mr. Prajwal Revanna is the son of MLA H.D. Revanna and grandson of Mr. Deve Gowda, the JD(S) supremo. Mr. Prajwal Revanna, who holds an engineering degree, will likely be contesting the election for the second time and against Congress’ Shreyas Patel, grandson of the former Minister late G. Puttaswamy Gowda, who had defeated Mr. Deve Gowda in the 1999 Lok Sabha elections. The former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is expected to contest from Mandya this time against developer Venkataramana Gowda of the Congress.
Mr. Deve Gowda’s son-in-law C.N. Manjunath is contesting from the Benglauru Rural constituency on the BJP ticket against D.K. Suresh of the Congress.
