BENGALURU: Newly-appointed state BJP chief Nalin Kumar Kateel on Wednesday said that his was a reluctant entry into politics, and later, as contestant for the Lok Sabha election, but had to obey the diktat of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP, who considered him their committed worker.
After a rousing reception from party workers at the district BJP office in Kodialbail in Mangaluru, Kateel said he owed his success in public life to the RSS, for which he has been working since the age of 12. “After working as an RSS pracharak and vistharak, spreading the organisation’s ideology, one day I was asked to join the BJP. I said I was not interested in politics.
But the Sangh asked me to join politics for some time and return. Later, I was asked to contest the MP election. Though I was not interested, I was told it was the decision of the party and Sangh, and I had to obey,” recalled Kateel, adding that he had to similarly accept the decision to take over the party reins in the state.
Kateel, who was elected MP for the third consecutive time in 2018, said he has no expectations or aspirations in politics, but was driven by “the Sangh’s idea of taking India towards supreme glory”. He said his birth in a remote village and the Sangh’s association since childhood helped him swim through all challenges and have clarity about life.
Stating that his new post as BJP chief is a responsibility and not just a post, he promised to uphold the trust reposed in him. Kateel said he has taken over the reins of the BJP when the party is in Swarna Yuga (golden era) after a Kattala Yuga (dark era).
Roadmap for party
Drawing up his plan for the party, Kateel said he would try to strengthen the BJP by replicating the model of the coastal and Malnad regions, where the party organisation is built from the booth level and Shakti Kendras.
He told reporters that he would first study the (social) differences in various parts of the state, before chalking out a roadmap to strengthen the party. “I will tour the entire state to strengthen the party. In Dakshina Kannada, I will shift some responsibility of the party organisation to the seven MLAs,” he said.
Reacting to the displeasure among some leaders over denial of cabinet berth, Kateel said this is expected when one does not get power, and said that CM BS Yediyurappa will talk to them.