The former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Preetham Gowda has been the centre of debates over coordination between the Janata Dal (Secular) and the saffron party in the Lok Sabha election in Hassan.
Mr. Gowda, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly from Hassan in 2018, lost to the JD(S) candidate in 2023. In fact, he built his career in politics fighting against the JD(S). He is known for his verbal duels with JD(S) leaders H.D. Revanna and his son Prajwal Revanna, incumbent MP.
The recent twists in politics have brought both the BJP and the JD(S) together. As a result, the BJP gave up the Hassan seat to the JD(S). Now the question is: Will Mr. Gowda campaign for Mr. Prajwal Revanna?
Interestingly, Mr. Gowda skipped the meetings convened by leaders of both BJP and JD(S) to ensure coordination between workers of the two parties. He was not present in Hassan when Mr. Prajwal Revanna submitted his nomination papers, though BJP State president B.Y. Vijayendra was present.
BJP national general secretary Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, who is in charge of the elections in Karnataka, held a meeting in Hassan again on Saturday. It is said the meeting was convened because JD(S) top leaders complained to the BJP leadership that Mr. Gowda was working against the JD(S)-BJP alliance candidate in Hassan.
However, Mr. Agarwal, speaking to the media after the meeting, maintained that he had told Mr. Gowda to work in Mysuru. “Mr. Preetham Gowda is the party’s general secretary. He has been appointed in charge of the Mysuru constituency. Mysusu is as important as Hassan is. I cannot expect Mr. Preetham Gowda to stay put in Hassan every day when he has been assigned work in Mysuru.”
