BENGALURU: To placate former minister MR Seetharam after being denied an MLC nomination, Congress on Friday appointed his son Raksha Ramaiah as general secretary of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC). The BJP had hoped to take Seetharam into its fold and Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar had held a round of talks, promising the former the Chikkaballapura Lok Sabha seat in the 2024 parliamentary polls, sources said.
Adding to the rumour mill was the absence of the father-son duo at the Congress’ two-day ‘Nava Sankalpa Shibira’. Perhaps sensing the adverse impact that the quitting of a leader, with an illustrious family background, have on the party ahead of the Assembly polls, AICC general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala acted swiftly through IYC president BV Srinivas and appointed Raksha to the post.
Seetharam is a familiar face in Bengaluru with his father, late MS Ramaiah, building a large number of educational institutions. He hails from the Balija community, which has a considerable population in Chikkaballapura district.
The BJP had planned that if Seetharam jumped ship, a combination of him and Sudhakar, a Vokkaliga, could work for the party in the 2024 polls. Now, with Raksha’s appointment, Congress may have managed to pacify Seetharam to stay in the party.