Prajwal Revanna suspended from JD(S), but what was the compulsion to give him a ticket from Hassan?

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

Listen to the Article (6 Minutes)

The Janata Dal (Secular) finally cracked the whip on Prajwal Revanna, its sitting MP & Hassan Lok Sabha candidate who is currently embroiled in a scandal involving multiple explicit videos allegedly showing him assaulting women sexually. The party suspended him till the SIT probe initiated against him was completed. He has been show-caused as well.

An FIR was filed against Prajwal and his father MLA HD Revanna, two days after Hassan, along with other constituencies in Karnataka went to polls. The complainant is a 47-year old woman.

While Prajwal is reportedly in Europe currently, reports suggest that both the JD(S) and its alliance partner BJP were aware of the presence of such explicit videos. In fact, in June last year, Prajwal had procured a gag order to stop the spread of what he termed as fake news. His plea alleged that ‘there is a threat of broadcasting, publishing and circulating such fake news, morphed photographs/video against the plaintiff by the defendants’.

1. What was the compulsion to field Prajwal from Hassan?

Hassan has been a Gowda family bastion for the last 2 decades. Former PM  and JD(S) patriarch HD Deve Gowda represented the seat at a stretch from 2004 to 2019, before Prajwal took over the reins. He won the seat by a margin of over 1 lakh 40 thousand votes, securing 52% of the votes.

DP Satish, Group Editorial Advisor, Network18 says, “There was no official complaint against Prajwal till Sunday and the ruling Congress perhaps thought that it might look like a politically motivated attempt to discredit the Gowda family in their fiefdom.”

In an interview to a Kannada TV channel, JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy admitted that the BJP had reservations about Hassan’s Lok Sabha candidate, but reiterated that ‘family compulsions forced him’ to go with Prajwal.

2. What were these ‘family compulsions’ Kumaraswamy referred to?

DP Satish, Group Editorial Advisor, Network18 says, “Hassan is like a personal property of HD Revanna. Neither HD Deve Gowda, nor Kumaraswamy interferes in its affairs.”

HD Revanna, the eldest son of Deve Gowda is the JD(S) MLA from Holenarasipur, an assembly segment of Hassan. The FIR lodged against Prajwal names Revanna as well. The police has registered a case against the father-son duo under IPC sections involving Sexual harassment, stalking, criminal intimidation and outraging modesty of a woman.

Activist Brinda Adige says that the IPC sections against Prajwal and his father are not stringent enough, considering the allegations levelled in the FIR.

3. What are the implications of the suspension?

As per the JD(S) party constitution uploaded on the Election Commission, ”If any person, against whom disciplinary action has been taken and punishment awarded, is a member of any local body, legislature, Parliament or holds any other position by virtue of his being a partyman, he may also be called upon to resign from such bodies.”

But, as of date, Prajwal’s suspension is only temporary in nature, and he still remains a primary member of the JD(S). DP Satish of Network18 feels that legally Prajwal is still only an accused and hence legally there is no complication on his part to resign from the party that his grandfather founded.

4. If Prajwal wins from Hassan & remains suspended – What does the rule book say?

As per India’s anti-defection law, a member could be disqualified if he or she voluntarily gives up the membership of a political party or joins any other political party after the election, votes or abstains from any crucial voting contrary to the party whip. However, anti-defection law has no provision to cope with the situation arising out of expulsion of a member from his political party.

So, in Prajwal’s case, even if he is expelled from the party, it is likely that his MP-ship won’t be affected, unless he is convicted or he chooses to leave JD(S).

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow