MYSURU: For veteran politician V Srinivas Prasad, who spent most of his political career in the grand old party, it is not the first time that he is quitting a party to join another. He has been in almost all major political parties of the state in his four-decade-long political career.
By joining BJP, which he once used to oppose tooth and nail, mainly because of its right-wing political ideology, he has come a full circle.
In fact, while quitting the NDA government as MoS for Consumer Affairs to join JD(S) in March, 2004, he had lambasted the government stating that instead of the NDA agenda, the government was pursuing BJP agenda.
Prasad began his political career by contesting on AIADMK ticket from Krishnaraja constituency by-election in 1974. Back then, the Dravidian party had some presence in Bengaluru, but not beyond that. Though Prasad did not win, he managed to wean away the dalit votes from Congress (I) which ultimately saw the victory of Congress (O) candidate.
Later, he joined Congress and got elected to Lok Sabha for four terms from 1980. He quit Congress before the 1996 Lok Sabha election after the party denied him a ticket. Later, he joined and won from Samata Party in 1999 which was later merged with JD(U).
He quit the party in 2004 to join JD(S). When Siddaramaiah quit JD(S) and launched AHINDA and then joined Congress, Prasad, who has a large Dalit following in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts, joined him and was elected from Nanjangud Assembly constituency twice.
Veteran Congress leader A H Vishwanath is not surprised by his switching sides. But, he said he is not happy over Prasad ‘throwing his ideologies’ to the wind in order to join BJP. “He has joined a party that had an ideology that is beyond secularism. And Prasad who believes in secularism and equality should have joined any other party but BJP,” he said.
