BENGALURU: Congress leader BK Hariprasad seems to have created an opportunity for himself and emerged as a leader of the backward Ediga community, to which he belongs, by obliquely attacking CM Siddaramaiah recently. He may also lead an anti-Siddaramaiah camp within Congress by bringing together those who have missed a shot at the chief minister’s post, including Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, and ministerial berths, political observers said.
What has given him the strength to take on Siddaramaiah, who is known to espouse the cause of backward classes through his Ahinda movement, is his close links with the community in the coastal region, where he campaigned extensively during the Assembly elections.
But it is to be seen whether Hariprasad, who is 68 years old, will emerge as a prominent leader of the Ediga community, which does not have leaders of the stature of former chief minister late S Bangarappa or former Lok Sabha member late RL Jalappa anymore. Since his statement against Siddaramaiah, Hariprasad is being backed strongly by community seer Pranavananda Swami, whose influence spans not just Karnataka but across South India as a considerable population of the community stays in Kerala too.
But political pundits said that Hariprasad may not be able to sustain the momentum as he has no history of winning elections. He lost from Gandhi Nagar in Bengaluru in 1983 and he has also not been able to win two Lok Sabha polls, including the one from Bengaluru South in 2019. The five-time RS member switched to state politics recently and became the leader of opposition in the Council.
But he has been sidelined by denying him a ministerial berth since Congress came to power. This is an indication that his era is over, a Congress leader commented. But Hariprasad gave a loaded message when he said, “Wait and watch how things pan out in the days to come”.