Prajwal Revanna, born on August 5, 1990, is an Indian politician and the grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda. His father, H.D. Revanna, is a former Minister for Public Works Department in Karnataka. Prajwal's uncle, H.D. Kumaraswamy, is a former Chief Minister of Karnataka. He earned a degree in mechanical engineering from Bangalore Institute of Technology in 2014.
Prajwal's political journey began in 2014 when he campaigned for his grandfather in Hassan. In 2015, he was selected as one of ten young aspiring politicians by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, UK, gaining exposure to the British system of governance. Despite being a member of Janata Dal (Secular) (JD(S)), he was initially denied a ticket in the 2018 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election. In 2019, Deve Gowda allowed Prajwal to contest from Hassan for the Lok Sabha, while he himself contested from Tumkur. Prajwal won the Hassan seat in the 2019 general elections, becoming the only winning candidate from his party out of six contenders. He also served as a Member of the Standing Committee on Water Resources from 2019 to 2020 and in the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
In a dramatic turn of events, Prajwal Revanna's political career was abruptly overshadowed by allegations of sexual abuse in 2024. Multiple videos surfaced, allegedly showing him committing sexual assault and recording the acts without consent. These allegations surfaced while he was campaigning for re-election to the Lok Sabha. He left India as the videos circulated but was arrested by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) upon his return on May 31, 2024.
On August 1, 2025, a special court for elected representatives convicted Prajwal Revanna in one of the rape cases registered against him. The case involved a 47-year-old domestic worker from KR Nagar, Mysuru. The court found him guilty of rape and is set to announce the sentence on August 2. The charges framed against him included sections for rape, sexual harassment, voyeurism, and destruction of evidence under the Indian Penal Code and the Information Technology Act. This conviction marks the conclusion of the first trial among multiple rape and sexual harassment cases against him.
The case has had significant political ramifications, especially for the Deve Gowda family and the JD(S) party. H.D. Deve Gowda, a prominent figure in Karnataka politics and former Prime Minister, has seen his family's reputation tarnished by the scandal. Other members of the Gowda family include Prajwal's father, H.D. Revanna, a six-time MLA, and his uncle, H.D. Kumaraswamy, a two-time Chief Minister of Karnataka. The scandal has triggered considerable debate and scrutiny of the family's influence in Karnataka politics.