BENGALURU: In a ‘better late than never’ decision, the Congress, in back-to-back appointments to its organisational setup, appointed two SC (Left) members to placate the community, which was by and large leaning towards the ruling BJP government.
Former Chitradurga LS member B N Chandrappa was appointed KPCC working president, a day after the Grand Old Party (GOP) appointed another community member, HP Sudham Das, a former Enforcement Directorate (ED) officer from Kanakapura, as co-chairperson of the campaign committee, in the run-up to the May 10 assembly polls.
Both the appointments were apparently made to placate the community, which was sidelined in the party’s organisation for decades, and also because Chandrappa was denied a ticket to contest the assembly polls. The BJP’s last cabinet meeting, led by CM Basavaraj Bommai, had decided to categorise SC quota and allocated 6 per cent to the community. It was widely welcomed by the community as its struggle for internal quota within SC category got a breakthrough.
The decision to appoint Chandrappa with ‘immediate effect’, following AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge’s instruction, came after the demise of KPCC working president R Dhruvanarayana.
Chandrappa (68) was Chitradurga Lok Sabha MP (2014-2019) and a member of the parliamentary standing committee on chemicals and fertilisers, and the agriculture consultative committee.
Originally from Chikkamagaluru district, he was elected Zilla Parishad member (1986-91) and went on to become vice-president (1991-1992) with state minister’s rank. Chandrappa also served as Lidkar chairman from 2001-03 in the SM Krishna regime.
Lidkar, now Dr Babu Jagjivan Ram Leather Industries Development Corporation Ltd., was established for the development of the leather industry in Karnataka, and to implement welfare schemes for Dalits, especially cobblers.