Former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda’s constituency Hassan, which also happens to be his home district, is quite possibly one of the best nurtured electoral regions in Karnataka. His rivals in the Congress and BJP concede that if development alone were the criterion, he and his family would win the seat for decades to come.
But Gowda’s association with Hassan and its development is not limited to his Lok Sabha contests. It has been there ever since he became an independent MLA from Holenarsipur in the district in 1962. "Nearly 50 per cent of this district was dry before Gowda entered politics. He was instrumental in getting the dam built across the Hemavathy, a tributary of the Cauvery. This provided irrigation to the four talukas of Hassan, besides vast areas of Tumkur, Mandya and Mysore districts," says H.K. Javare Gowda, former Rajya Sabha member and a Gowda confidant. "And when he was irrigation and PWD minister in 1985, he ensured a dam over Yagati river in Belur taluka of the district. There was only one degree college and one diploma college here in 1962, but now every taluka has a first-grade college."
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As we toured parts of the district on well-laid roads, people point out that a "Gowda speciality" has been to "squeeze" any government of the day to fund development in the district. As a result, you see a number of government professional colleges, besides private ones. There are government engineering, medical, agriculture, law, veterinary and nursing colleges. Because of his "unmatched grasp of politics and policy", he has ensured that every national or state government scheme, be it for roads, education, housing, irrigation, health, power or SC/ST development, has worked for the district. You see Navodaya and Morarji schools and hostels for SC/ST students almost at every panchayat level.
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What has helped Gowda in thinking up development and effective implementation has been his loyal band of MLAs, and more importantly, his son H.D. Revanna, an MLA from Holenarsipur, who has "bossed over" the district. People openly acknowledge that in the last couple of decades, when Gowda has been busy with state and national politics, it is Revanna who has proactively developed the district and has made it a pocketborough of the Gowda family. He is persistent with officials and does not take a no for an answer. The manner in which he has implemented the Indira, Rajiv and Ambedkar housing schemes is remarkable. "In the middle of a slum of mostly Muslims in Chippinakatta, he has recently set up a college," says S.A. Firoz, a local businessman.
Another of Revanna’s major contributions to the Gowda family kitty in the district has been through dairy farming. As chairman of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF), he has set up a mega chilling unit, a cattle feed factory and also a milk products factory. All of them are on either side of the national highway as you drive down to Hassan. Dairy farming has become a major source of income in the district and the procurement has touched over 4-5 lakh litres every day. The Gowdas have also got an SEZ spread across a thousand acres in Hassan where some granite and garment industries have come up. An airport for Hassan has also been sanctioned. Besides all the works, his greatest asset has been remaining accessible to all his constituents 24 hours a day. Gowda himself picks up his calls.
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Gowda’s home-village of Haradanahalli has also been developed into a model village with two-lane asphalted roads. Here nearly 50 per cent of the houses have been pulled down and reconstructed with brick and mortar. In this light, Gowda’s campaign pitch in the state has been interesting: "Give us 16 MPs and I’ll catch the collar of whoever is the prime minister and get work done for the state."