BELAGAVI: BJP MP from Vijayapura Ramesh Jigajinagi was sworn in as Union Minister in the Modi’s reshuffled cabinet on Tuesday.
However, this wasn’t the first time he was invited to the Rashtrapati Bhavan. In 1998, Ramesh was invited by prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to become a minister, but he sacrificed that chance for his political guru Ramakrishna Hegde.
Ramesh joined politics at the time of Emergency in 1975 when he was doing his masters in the Karnatak University, Dharwad.
In 1983, he was elected as MLA from Balloli reserve constituency. Hegde made him a minister .
A five-time MP, Jigajinagi told Express from Delhi: “I owe all my political gains to my gurus Ramakrishna Hegde and J H Patel who showed tremendous affection to me.”