Another member of JD(S) first family in trouble: Who is Suraj Revanna?

The Janata Dal (Secular)’s first family has been dogged by a series of controversies in recent months, with the most recent being a case related to Karnataka MLC Suraj Revanna who is the elder brother of former JD(S) Hassan MP Prajwal Revanna who has been accused of rape. On Sunday, the Hassan police arrested Suraj for allegedly sexually assaulting a male party worker.

The complaint was filed on Saturday under various IPC sections, including sections 377 (carnal intercourse against the order of nature) and 342 (wrongful confinement). A counter-complaint was filed a day earlier by one of Suraj’s aides named Shivakumar who has accused the complainant of attempting to extort the MLC.

Suraj is the son of JD(S) MLA H D Revanna who is Union Minister and former Karnataka CM H D Kumaraswamy’s older brother. A doctor by trade, he was the seventh member of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s family to be elected to office in Karnataka. He contested from the Hassan Local Authorities constituency for the Legislative Council and won the polls in January 2022. With Suraj’s arrest, both of H D Revanna’s sons are now behind bars while Revanna himself and his wife Bhavani Revanna are out on bail in a case of alleged kidnapping.

Described as a reserved character, Suraj has rarely participated in House debates, sparking speculation of him being forced into the electoral fray by his mother against his wishes. Known for her political ambitions, she had lobbied hard for both herself and Suraj to be fielded from the Hassan Assembly constituency in last year’s Assembly polls. But Kumaraswamy vetoed both proposals.

Troubles for this branch of Deve Gowda’s family began in September 2023 after the Karnataka High Court scrapped Prajwal’s 2019