O Priya, Priya sings Gowda

JD(S) workers feel slighted about their boss's partiality for a rival candidate

JD(S) workers feel slighted about their boss's partiality for a rival candidate

As the bypoll results trickled in from Govindrajnagar last week, JD(S) head honcho H D Deve Gowda's mood oscillated from nervous anticipation to rapturous jubilation.

Your win, our win: Priya Krishna does not have too many admirers in the JD(S), apart from its leader file pic

And JD(S) party workers are miffed that the emotions were for Priya Krishna from the rival Congress.

"JD(S) candidates were winning in Channapattana and Ramanagar but the family'su00a0 attention was only on Govindarajnagar where there was no party candidate," said a source.

In fact, the Gowda household seemed to be more excited over Priya defeating BJP's V Somanna than Priya's own family.

Understandable, considering that Priya, 25, is rumoured to be marrying Gowda's granddaughter, Keerthana, 22.

All in the family

Family members, mostly women, joined Gowda and his son H D Kumaraswamy, former chief minister, when counting started at 8 in the morning.

But not before special prayers were offered in the pooja room with Gowda's wife, Chennamma, taking the lead.

"The women kept going to the pooja room to pour oil in the lamps at the end of every round of counting," said a source close to the family, who was present.

"And they kept inquiring about Priya's position."

Keerthana was, however, not part of the scene.

Traitor!

JD(S) partyworkers feel that it was unbecoming of Gowda to be so overtly keen on the victory of Priya, son of M Krishnappa, the Congress MLA representing the neighbouring Vijayanagar constituency.

They also suspect Gowda's hand behind the rejection of the JD(S) candidate in Govindrajnagar.

Gowda himself did nothing to quell those suspicions.

"He kept calling Krishnappa, who was with Priya at the counting centre, once every five minutes," said the source.

"And Krishnappa was guiding Priya, based on his instructions."

At one stage, the family's spirits sank when tabulation was delayed due to the confusion in the number of votes shared by the candidates in the eleventh round.

Gowda picked up the phone and asked Krishnappa to call two senior lawyers to the spot to tackle the situation. However, there was no need for that since the crisis blew over soon after.

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'Lead, I will follow'
A victorious Priya Krishna said, "Deve Gowda is like Bheeshma for us. He is there to guide us and I will follow."
However, he was not as forthcoming when it came to his impending marriage. "It's too early to discuss that. We've just passed a crucial phase after winning the elections and it is far from our sight," is all he would say.

Divine victory
On son H D Revanna's suggestion, Deve Gowda visited the Mahalakshmi temple near his house at Padmanabhanagar after Priya Krishna submitted his nomination.

The visit to the temple, which Gowda himself had built, came after a long gap. When Gowda called Priya after the results, he told him that he had visited the temple for his sake.

"I wept before the deity and she seems to have answered my prayers. Please come and offer your prayers." Priya, in the manner of a future grandson-in-law, obliged.