Last May, a crowd milled around Janata Dal (Secular) supremo H. D. Deve Gowda바카라™s home in Bangalore where the needle바카라”after a nail-biting end to the state elections바카라”had finally come to rest. Gowda, and his son H.D. Kumaraswamy, were the men of the moment. And, a tumultuous week later, the father-son duo were at the centre of a political panoply that set the tone for what바카라™s now the key word in the 2019 election season바카라”alliance. Elections: Number Game
Therefore, it was with some surprise that many received news of Gowda바카라™s pointsman in Delhi, Kunwar Danish Ali, joining the BSP. Ali, party insiders say, has been one of Gowda바카라™s aides for long. He바카라™d been visible this past year as the JD(S) opened up a hotline with Rahul Gandhi. 바카라śThe love and affection he gave to me is incomparable. That will continue,바카라ť Ali tells Outlook, explaining that his move would enable him to contest elections in home-state UP, something he couldn바카라™t have done on a JD(S) ticket. 바카라śIt was also his wish that I should enter the Lok Sabha,바카라ť says Ali. 바카라śNobody can break my relationship with Gowda and Kumaraswamy.바카라ť
Gowda and Mayawati had a pre-poll seat-sharing pact for the 2018 Karnataka elections바카라”Ali, again, was instrumental in making that happen. Among Gowda바카라™s longstanding lieutenants is Y.S.V. Datta, a former party legislator who was for long its spokesman. But, as a party insider put it, 바카라śif Gowda wants grassroots information, he바카라™ll go to his old friends in (hometown) Paduvalahippe. And, just as easily seek out experts if he wants advice바카라ť.
The Gowda family, despite its internal power wrangles, is closely-knit, observers say. While Kumaraswamy is the party바카라™s face, his elder brother Revanna manages the family바카라™s pocketborough of Hassan. Besides, there are siblings and their spouses with varied professional backgrounds (former bureaucrat, surgeon etc) who stay away from the limelight.
Kumaraswamy바카라™s inner circle comprised a clutch of five-six former party legislators, including Zameer Ahmed Khan, Chaluvarayaswamy, and H.C. Balkrishna. It was a coterie that had stood by him in 2006 when he had made a dramatic bid to seize power and become Karnataka CM, defying his father. But that circle had fallen out. 바카라śThe situation was different. Now, it바카라™s him and Gowdaji,바카라ť says a party leader. These days, for political decisions, Kumaraswamy relies on two-three cabinet ministers. On occasion, Congress leader D.K. Shivakumar too advises him.
