Two next-generation entrants into Karnataka’s political scene had starkly different launches in the public eye on Thursday.If chief minister Siddaramaiah’s second son, Yathindra, a recluse till now, quietly participated in the inauguration of developmental activities by his father at his constituency Varuna, in Mysuru, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy’s son, Nikhil, made his debut as an actionhero out to avenge wrongs in the Kannada-Telugu movie ‘Jaguar’.Till two months ago, Siddaramaiah’s elder son, Rakesh, was seen as his political successor, though the CM refused to publicly groom him for the job. But Rakesh’s sudden death on July 31 has turned the spotlight on to Yathindra, who had always made it a point to stay away from his father’s political life.Yathindra’s name first surfaced as part of a political scandal in April as a medical firm that he was a director of won some government contracts under circumstances that appeared to be skewed in its favour.With Rakesh’s death, however, there was a perception that he would have to step up and fill that vacuum. “Both the CM and Yathindra were reminded of how Rajiv Gandhi stepped up when Indira Gandhi lost her political heir, Sanjay,” a close friend of the Siddaramaiah family told ET.“They were initially reluctant, but Yathindra seems to have realised that he needs to accept Siddaramaiah’s political legacy.”Yathindra has been making hesitant political moves, meeting the constituents of the Varuna assembly segment and listening to their grievances. Rakesh used to do this earlier.On Thursday, Yathindra finally made a public appearance with Siddaramaiah at the inauguration of several developmental works in the constituency. Siddaramaiah told the gathered villagers there: “I request you all to extend support to Yathindra. He has been entrusted with the responsibility of looking after the constituency.”The entry of the other political scion, Nikhil, has been more subtle. The grandson of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda got into public disfavour when Kumaraswamy was the CM of the state, through a brawl at a hotel on Church Street. Since then, he kept out of the public eye and was only seen at a protest against tolls on the road to the Kempegowda International Airport.“He is more interested in gaining popularity through films,” a Gowda family member told ET.“He may eventually follow both his father and his grandfather into politics, but he wants to do that in the style of Telugu film stars-turned-politicians, Chiranjeevi and Pawan Kalyan,” she added.The film’s audio launch saw Kumaraswamy distributing compensation to families of farmers who committed suicide in Mandya. The film launch is being celebrated by Janata Dal(S) workers as a party event and no one seems to doubt that this is just a means for Nikhil’s political debut.