The brand new Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chairman BK Hariprasad, 71, and the brand new chief minister and former KPCC chairman DK Shivakumar, 64, are each seen as staunch supporters of the Gandhi household and have adopted related trajectories early of their political careers.
Each leaders entered Congress 10 years aside after gaining reputations as street-fighting leaders within the scholar unions of some Bangalore universities, which on the time had been closely influenced by native gangs.
Whereas Hariprasad’s transition into politics after a stint as a scholar chief in Bangalore was through the period of Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi, Shivakumar’s rise as a frontrunner occurred first throughout Rajiv Gandhi’s period after which as considered one of Sonia Gandhi’s troubleshooters.
Nonetheless, the same arcs of Hariprasad’s and Shivakumar’s early political careers subsequently diverged when it comes to contrasting ideologies, with their frequent denominator being loyalty to the Gandhi household, significantly Sonia Gandhi.
Whereas Mr. Hariprasad has espoused the social gathering’s social justice beliefs over the previous 4 many years and has grown into a elegant and trusted Congress employee, Mr. Shivakumar has turn out to be Karnataka’s richest businessman and politician with a status for group, though he nonetheless has some tough edges.
Why Hariprasad?
Hariprasad was appointed as the brand new chief secretary of the state meeting on June 3. Shivakumar turns into CM Instead of OBC Kuruba chief Siddaramaiah. Shivakumar remained KPCC chief for six years, refusing to resign till the Congress elevated him to the publish of CM.
The choice of the Parliamentary Excessive Command is Handing over management of KPCC to HariprasadShivakumar, who belongs to the Idiga OBC group and is from Vokkaliga, the dominant caste of the day, is seen as making an attempt to create a political opposition to the domineering Shivakumar.
Balancing the pursuits of the OBC caste is essential for the Congress because it tries to navigate the period with out Siddaramaiah, the most important OBC chief with a powerful base amongst oppressed teams and minorities, who was eliminated as CM after a three-year hiatus by Shivakumar.
The Congress will look to Hariprasad to counter the politics of the Bharatiya Janata Get together and the Sangh Parivar, as Shivakumar is seen as a champion of “comfortable Hindutva”, a task Siddaramaiah assumed strongly throughout his tenure.
President Hariprasad has additionally typically been combative towards the best wing. “Minority communities are focused and each phrase you possibly can consider is used towards them. The extra you assault the minority group, the extra you get promoted throughout the group and even turn out to be the chief minister or CM. There are political events that rise as much as turn out to be chief ministers and CMs. Communities shouldn’t be focused with the ulterior motive of political achieve,” MLC Hariprasad stated through the dialogue of the Karnataka Prevention of Hate Speech Invoice within the Karnataka Higher Home.
“Faith is intertwined with politics and that nexus has politicized and militarized some religions. Issues come up when hatred arises from faith. Because of this now we have to remain throughout the ambit of the Structure and legal guidelines,” Hariprasad stated within the Home throughout a debate on the anti-conversion invoice handed by the then Bharatiya Janata Get together authorities in 2022.
Hariprasad has lengthy been identified to be a harsh critic of the Sangh Parivar’s communal politics.
social justice {qualifications}
The Congress is relying on Hariprasad to champion OBC pursuits and the reason for social justice, though Shivakumar has little affect over backward communities and depends on funds and organizational abilities to rally the social gathering.
Mr. Hariprasad, who has been the eyes and ears of the All India Congress Committee (AICC) management for a few years, is a supporter of caste census and, like Mr. Siddaramaiah, advocates for caste knowledge to offer reservations.
Shivakumar, then again, is towards the caste census and the Congress is prone to face difficulties if it calls for implementation of the Karnataka State Fee for Backward Courses’ caste census report. The report was accepted by Siddaramaiah in considered one of his final official acts as CM.
Through the tenure of the present Congress authorities, Hariprasad was initially seen as pro-Shivakumar however later switched to pro-Siddaramaiah. He was broadly rumored to be becoming a member of Siddaramaiah’s cupboard in 2023, however did not discover a spot regardless of Shivakumar’s help. He was believed to have been stored out by the then CM regardless of permission from the social gathering management.
At an OBC rally in Bangalore in September 2023, Hariprasad even questioned Siddaramaiah’s love for the great life. “An individual who wears a panche (dhoti), a Hublot watch and a khaki chaddi can’t be a socialist,” he stated, not directly referring to the controversy that arose when Siddaramaiah acquired an costly Hublot watch as a present throughout his first industrial look in 2016.
Later, Hariprasad was reprimanded by the AICC, which issued a discover saying he was accused of criticizing the CM in public and showing on stage with BJP and YSRCP leaders at an OBC occasion.
Later, after the friction with Shivakumar, Hariprasad was proposed by Siddaramaiah’s camp contemplating his affect in Delhi, and the feud between the 2 camps for the CM publish intensified.
President Hariprasad additionally began efforts to determine himself as an OBC chief alongside Siddaramaiah by organizing a number of occasions in Karnataka and Kerala in honor of Sree Narayana Guru, a saint from the Bhilava/Idiga area.
“Ever since Bangarappa (former CM and OBC Idiga chief) exited the Congress, there was no consolidation of OBC votes into the social gathering. By making Hariprasad the primary OBC chief, the Congress is making an attempt to regain a number of the OBC floor that could be misplaced with Siddaramaiah’s exit from the CM publish,” stated a supply near Hariprasad.
Hariprasad’s destiny
Though Hariprasad has not had any electoral success as he misplaced the Lok Sabha polls for Bangalore South constituency in 1999 and 2019, he has been a Rajya Sabha member 4 instances and is the parliamentary ballot secretary in 18 states. He has a status inside Congress as a dependable steward of social gathering funds.
“One of many the explanation why Hariprasad was entrusted with the Congress activity of dealing with polls in so many states is the boldness of the Congress management within the trustworthy distribution of marketing campaign funds,” a celebration chief stated.
A former AICC official recalled that when the Congress was ousted after 2014, there was no different official on the AICC headquarters in Delhi to work together with the general public besides Hariprasad. He served as AICC Secretary Basic from 2006 to 2018.
Hariprasad’s household has additionally not had electoral success in Karnataka, along with his elder brother BK Shivaram, a distinguished former police officer, shedding the Malleshwaram Meeting seat in 2013 and his nephew Rakshit Shivaram shedding the Belthangady seat in Dakshina Kannada in 2023.
His household has roots within the coastal Karnataka area of Dakshina Kannada, the place the group is polarized.
main challenges
One of many key challenges going through Hariprasad as KPCC chief is his personal sharp temperament and rebellious nature, at the same time as he’s known as upon to make sure synergy between the social gathering and the federal government in what is predicted to be a one-man present for CM Shivakumar.
The truth that Hariprasad will not be bringing his essential vote base to the desk is prone to be a stumbling block regardless of the Caste Balancing Act.
Siddaramaiah’s affiliate and senior minister Satish Jarkiholi, a Scheduled Tribe (ST) chief primarily based in northern Karnataka with organizational abilities, had additionally sought a publish within the KPCC, however was reportedly rejected as a result of, like Shivakumar, he wished to stay a minister regardless of being a celebration chief.
The Congress expects Hariprasad to place the social gathering in a profitable place within the 2028 meeting elections. “When he (Shivakumar) is preventing for the Congress trigger, we have to strengthen his hand. We’ve got to take to the streets. Whoever desires energy and place, Sonia Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharji, Shiva to strengthen the Congress We should cooperate with Kumar. The Nationwide Congress is God’s social gathering as a result of it was constructed on the sacrifices of many leaders. I guarantee the social gathering staff that I’ll all the time be with them,” stated Hariprasad, who has been nominated because the KPCC chief.
“I perceive the aspirations of the backward courses, Dalits, minorities, farmers, staff, ladies and youth. Subsequently, preserving this in thoughts, allow us to reorganize the Congress social gathering in Karnataka from the sales space degree and strengthen it ideologically. All succesful ideological leaders and staff within the state will be a part of arms with me on this endeavour,” he stated.
Senior Congress Minister MB Patil praised Hariprasad and stated, “He has labored in Rajya Sabha and is aware of the group in and out. He’s effectively suited to be the KPCC chairman. He has a powerful philosophy of parliamentary tradition. “To battle towards the forces, he’s probably the most appropriate PCC chairman. Below his management, with Shivakumar as CM, Mr. Siddaramaiah’s steering and Mr. Mallikarjun Kharge’s steering, we are able to count on the social gathering to develop.” It would work effective. ”
