Following his defeat in the Karnataka Assembly elections, the former BJP MLA of the Hassan City Assembly seat has issued what appears as a subliminal warning towards one specific community. In a viral video, Preetham Gowda refers to "one community," which did not support him in the 2023 Assembly elections, and declares that he will "show them" his "power." He doesn't say the community's name specifically, but his words about "one community" imply a show of force in their path.
Preetham Gowda is heard saying in a video that has gone viral on social media, "...In the last five years, we performed so much work. Others were dozing off throughout COVID. One group of people showed up for us; in the following days, we are going to show who we are. The sun and moon are as genuine as it gets...I'll be showing my strength to them."
The Janata Dal (Secular) [JD(S)] has always held sway in the Hassan City Assembly segment. HS Prakash of the JD(S), who had previously won as a Janata Party candidate in 1994, retained the seat for three straight terms after KH Hanumegowda of the party clinched victory for the party in 1999. But in the 2018 elections, Preetham Gowda of the BJP triumphed over the incumbent HS Prakash in a hotly contested race.
Bhavani Revanna, the wife of JD(S) leader HD Revanna, initially appeared to be a prominent contender for the party's ticket, which led to significant drama in this year's election for the Hassan City seat. However, due to accusations of the JD(S) participating in "dynastic politics," HD Kumaraswamy, a top JD(S) leader and Bhavani Revanna's brother-in-law, declared that the ticket will be awarded to a party employee. As a result, the JD(S) proposed Swaroop Prakash, the son of four-term MLA H S Prakash.
The constituency has drawn increased attention because Preetham Gowda of the BJP challenged the JD(S) Supremo and the family of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to steal the seat from him. Now that Swaroop Prakash of the JD(S) has won the seat with ease, Preetham has lost the contest with the BJP receiving 77,322 votes while the JD(S) received 85,176 votes and declared victory by 7,854 votes.
