Cabinet reshuffle: Anant Kumar Hegde pips all, shocks Karnataka leaders
Bengaluru: The decision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah to pick Uttara Kannada MP Anant Kumar Hegde from Karnataka for induction into the Union Cabinet, has come as a 'big shock' to state BJP leaders. They are at a loss to decipher the reasons why Mr Hegde, a Brahmin, was chosen and not someone from the dominant Vokkaliga or Lingayat community.
Forty eight-year old Hegde is no novice however and is a five-time MP who once defeated Congress heavyweight Margaret Alva to enter Parliament.
A product of firebrand Hindutva politics of the Nineties, he shot to fame after he hoisted the Tricolour at the controversial Idgah Maidan at Hubballi violating curfew and breaking a police cordon.
He is considered a loner by state BJP leaders which makes his elevation even more puzzling, confide sources.
“This has come as a shock to us. Whoever picked him, has to explain why it was done. His induction will not help us in any way, especially with polls approaching,” fumed a senior leader.
Sources in the state RSS felt Hedge’s aggressive pro-Hindutva line and his active participation in parliamentary standing committees may have helped him make it to the Cabinet.
“The pulls and pressures of state politics are not the criterion for selecting Union Cabinet appointees. We could guess this based on Mr Amit Shah's interaction with state leaders during his recent visit,” they said.
According to these sources, Mr Shah asked BJP district presidents and state leaders how many BJP leaders had worked with frontal organisations five years before joining the party, how many had faced police cases for fighting for public causes and finally, how many had individually held rallies in the last four years which drew big crowds. “Anant Kumar Hegde easily fulfils all three conditions, we presume this could be the reason why he was picked. One more reason-strange though it may seem- is that he did not lobby for a berth which might have worked in his favour.” sources said.
Nor does the BJP top brass believe that the choice of Union minister will have a bearing on assembly elections, which demand a different strategy.
“I think this is the premise on which central leaders might have worked,” sources added.
