[2][3] On 10 February 2020, Nikhil was engaged to Revathi, the grand-niece of Congress leader and realtor M. Krishnappa at the Taj West End Bangalore.

[9] Nikhil ran in the 2019 Indian general election in Karnataka from the Mandya Lok Sabha constituency, as a Janata Dal (Secular) candidate.

[10] Mandya was considered a safe bastion for the erstwhile Congress-JDS alliance as historically, Indian National Congress was the most successful party, followed by Janata Dal (Secular) to contest in the district.

[11][12] He lost in the elections to Sumalatha, who is the wife of late Kannada veteran Ambareesh, by a margin of 128,876 votes.

[10] He contested in the 2023 Karnataka Legislative Assembly election, from Ramanagara where his father H. D. Kumaraswamy, mother Anitha and grandfather H. D. Devegowda had previously represented.