India’s Modi risks losing key state election over alleged sex scandal involving ex-PM’s grandson

Prajwal Revanna is accused of sexually assaulting hundreds of women after the release of videos showing his alleged crimes

The opposition Congress Party has slammed PM Narendra Modi for supporting Revanna during election campaigning

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Congress spokeswoman Supriya Shrinate shows a photograph featuring JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna who has been summoned for an alleged sexual abuse case. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:54pm, 1 May 2024Updated: 11:25pm, 1 May 2024

A massive scandal surrounding a former Indian prime minister’s grandson who is accused of raping and sexually assaulting hundreds of women has tainted a regional party allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with analysts saying it could cost the ruling party an electoral majority in a key state.

The controversy surrounding Prajwal Revanna, former Indian prime minister Deve Gowda’s grandson, had been brewing for several months. It erupted this week after hundreds of videos showing his alleged sex crimes surfaced amid the country’s ongoing national elections, prompting authorities to initiate a special investigation.

Revanna is a member of the Janata Dal (Secular) Party, or JD(S), a regional party based in the southern Karnataka state that is partnering with the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for this year’s parliamentary elections.

The scandal billowed because Modi had campaigned for Revanna this election season, but the BJP later distanced itself from the 33-year-old and denied any prior knowledge of his purported crimes.

Revanna reportedly flew to Germany a day after voting was held in his constituency on Friday.

India’s opposition Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, sister of the party’s de facto leader Rahul Gandhi, has slammed Modi’s conduct on the issue.