DK vs HDK: Is rivalry set to return with a brother taking on a son?

There was a thaw in tensions between the Shivakumar and Kumaraswamy family when they were in alliance in 2018. Is that now wearing off?

After a thaw of 14 months when they were in power together the battle lines are all set to be drawn between Congress chief D K Shivakumar and JD(S) supremo, H D Kumaraswamy.

Shivakumar has indicated that his brother D K Suresh may contest the elections against Kumaraswamy's son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy in the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.

Shivakumar however added that nothing has been decided as yet. " There is a small message that my brother should take on Nikhil. I am yet to speak with him and the party high command too," he added.

If the battle goes through, it would be one of the most interesting ones that the state would witness this year. It would once again bring to the fore the feud between the two most prominent Vokkaliga families in the state.

The Ramanagara constituency is represented by Anita, the wife of Kumaraswamy and mother of Nikhil. The JD(S) leader has won this turf five times and the family considers it to be home ground. In 2018, Kumaraswamy won both Ramanagara and Channapatna. He however gave up the Ramanagar seat on the advice of Shivakumar when the Congress and JD(S) formed the government. This move was seen as a truce and in the media it was believed that a 30 year old rivalry had been put to rest.

The rivalry between the two families was set in motion, when Shivakumar at the age of 23 took on Kumaraswamy's father, H D Deve Gowda from the Ssathanur constituency in 1985. In the 1999 elections, Shivakumar who had represented this constituency four times defeated Kumaraswamy in a high-octane battle.

The battle between the two families peaked when Shivakumar helped Thejaswini Gowad defeat Deve Gowda in the Lok Sabha elections from the Kanakapura seat in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. Gowda had contested on two seats and won from Hassan that year.

There was however a thaw in relations between Kumaraswamy and Shivakumar when their parties entered into an alliance in 2018. The alliance lasted 14 months.

With no clear winner in sight as of now, and talk being that the JD(S) would play kingmaker, this development is an interesting one. The message from the Congress in fielding Suresh is being viewed as a clear message that there is no proposal to ally with the JD(S). Many leaders of the Congress in the Old Mysuru Region were unhappy after the Congress and JD(S) contested the 2019 elections together. It was viewed as an unnatural alliance.