As ever, the Karnataka Assembly election is not new this time as family ties foray significantly in the political landscape, particularly among the three major parties, with the incumbent CM Basavaraj Bommai himself being son of a former state chief minister.
The BJP's former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who is a prominent figure in the state's ruling party, has stepped down and will not run in the elections but after making sure that his son Vijayendra is given a seat in his place in Shikaripura, Shivamogga district.
In contrast, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of the Congress party gave his safe seat of Varuna to his son Yathindra in the 2018 election, but this year, he is reclaiming the seat, and his son is stepping aside.
The Janata Dal Secular (JDS) is also known for its family-run party, with patriarch HD Deve Gowda, who was briefly Prime Minister of the country. His son, HD Kumaraswamy, has served twice as the state's Chief Minister and will run for re-election in Channapatna.
Kumaraswamy's son Nikhil will run in Ramanagara, a seat currently held by his mother, Anitha. In case of a hung assembly, every seat won by the JDS could be crucial for them to play the role of kingmaker.
The Gowda family is not the only family with multiple members running for office. The father-daughter duo of former Congress home minister Ramalinga Reddy and his daughter Sowmya will run in Bengaluru South seats of BTM Layout and Jayanagar.
The Congress party's M Krishnappa and his son Priyakrishna will contest from two city seats, Vijaynagar and Govindraj Nagar, where they are MLAs. BJP candidate Kumar Bangarappa will run against his brother Madhu, a Congress candidate, in Sorab, Shivamogga district.
The list goes on as family connections are commonplace in Karnataka politics and almost each area is known for a dominant family -- Jarkiholi brothers in Belagavi, DK brothers in Kanakapura, Kodagu MLA's family or Lad brothers in Ballari. Who says only Bollywood is known for nepotism? Blood is thicker in politics too.
