BENGALURU: Amid speculations that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s principal secretary N Manjunath Prasad, a 1994-batch IAS officer, will contest in the 2023 Assembly polls, Bommai praised Prasad during the Bhovi community convention held in Tumakuru on Sunday.
“I know him for a long time as an efficient and honest officer who can tackle crisis, and who always wants to be a part of the solution. That’s why I picked him as my principal secretary. You should take his success story as an inspiration,” he told the gathering.
Prasad is politically connected. Revenue Minister R Ashoka was his classmate. His mother-in-law Mangamma Muniswamy was a former president of Kolar ZP, and his father-in-law Muniswamy was an IAS officer.
Sources said that Prasad is likely to take VRS if the BJP assures a ticket from any of the SC reserved constituencies including Koratagere, Nelamangala, Anekal, KGF, among others in the Old Mysuru region.
Retired IAS officer BH Anil Kumar has already been campaigning in Koratagere as the BJP candidate. So, Prasad might have to look for other seats, sources said.
Politics and logistics may be supporting him but he has to choose an assembly constituency which suits his profile and complements the crucial caste equations, observed a political pundit. Speaking to TNIE, Prasad scotched rumours of joining politics. “Why should I take VRS when my 2.5 years of service is still left?” he said.
Dismal success rate
Many bureaucrats have waded into political waters, but the success rate is dismal. Former IPS officers Revanasiddaiah, Subhash Bharani and Shankar Bidari, ex-IAS officers K Shivaram and Siddaiah had failed to win polls. Ex-chief secretary K Ratnaprabha had lost the Tirupati bypolls in Andhra in 2021.
Whereas IPS officers Kodandaramaiah and HT Sangliana had won. But Hirekeruru MLA BC Patil, who took VRS as police inspector, has managed to be successful and become agriculture minister.