BENGALURU: Veteran Congress leader S R Patil, a staunch party loyalist, on Friday completed his responsibility as leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council, and will bid adieu to the Upper House after two decades. His term comes to an end on January 5.
An authority on irrigation projects, especially in North Karnataka, he had made a thumping demand even on his last day by urging the government to complete the Upper Krishna Project at any cost. “He is a stalwart who has in-depth knowledge about his subject, and is a role model for young legislators,” remarked former MLC Ramesh Babu.
When 73-year-old Patil missed the party ticket to contest the December 10 Council polls to former minister MB Patil’s younger brother Sunilgouda Patil, in the dual seat of Vijayapura-Bagalkot, it came as a surprise. But the loyalist, who held the IT-BT and Science and Technology portfolio in the Siddaramaiah regime, did not turn rebel.
According to sources, this has improved his chance of getting elected to the Council again from the assembly, when seven seats fall vacant in June 2022, and of which the Congress has a fair chance of winning two. “If he is not accommodated, he may seek a ticket to contest the assembly polls from his home town Bilagi in 2023, as the Congress is expected to return to power,” said one of his supporters.
When Congress under-performed in 2018, winning few seats in North Karnataka, Patil had tendered his resignation from KPCC working president’s post. Interestingly, since he hailed from the Lingayat community, former CM Siddaramaiah had even floated his name for the KPCC president’s post when Dr G Parameshwara vacated the post to become deputy CM in the H D Kumaraswamy-led JDS-Congress government.