RAICHUR: or Raja Amareshwara Naik who won the just concluded Lok Sabha election from Raichur by a comfortable margin, the political plunge was rather unexpected about three decades ago. In his younger days, he had no political ambitions. It was only when former chief minister Veerendra Patil picked him up to contest from Lingasugur assembly constituency as the Congress candidate that his roller coaster political journey began.
Patil strategy to field the scheduled tribe leader in a general category constituency worked and Naik won by a margin of 3,399 votes.
He got another breakthrough in 1991 when S Bangarappa took over as the Chief Minister of the state after Patil’s unceremonious exit from the post.
Naik was made the endowment minister.
Three years later in 1994, he lost the assembly election from Lingasugur. But he emerged victorious in 1999 and became the horticulture minister in the S M Krishna government a year later and was also given the prisons portfolio. But he lost from Raichur Rural constituency in the next general elections to the assembly in 2004.
“When four assembly constituencies in Raichur district become reserved in 2008, I was denied ticket by former MP Venkatesh Naik, whom I had supported. This was really sad,” Naik quips.
In 2009, he crossed over to the BJP and campaigned for a month in the run up to the Lok Sabha elections. However, the ticket was given to Sanna Pakirappa on the “request of” senior leader B S Yeddyurappa. He denies that he sold the ticket.”
After he won intensely fought general 2019 general election, he now wants to focus on the development of region. Naik says he wants to implement central government schemes in his constituency by bringing funds.
“I also want to focus on railway and national highway projects”, he says and underlines that he wants to
materialise UDAN (Ude Desh Ka Aam Naagarik) scheme in Raichur.