BJP gets Prasad boost in Siddaramaiah's home turf

Bengaluru: Disgruntled and upset with the Congress for “humiliating him” at the fag end of his political career,  former minister and popular Dalit leader, V. Srinivas Prasad officially joined the BJP on Monday.

For the BJP his induction comes as a shot in the arm as with less than a year -and -a half to go for the state Assembly elections, his popularity among Dalits could prove a big advantage for it, especially in the old Mysuru region.

On joining the saffron party, Mr Prasad said he had taken the decision not because he was looking for power but for an” honorable exit from public life.”

Once again accusing CM Siddaramaiah of humiliating him and backstabbing him when he was on the verge of retirement, he said the “Congress now has to pay the price or it. I  have decided to teach it a lesson. ” Saying that his appreciation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s governance, had cost him, Mr Prasad recalled that Mr. Siddaramaiah had pleaded for his support when  he contested the Chamundeshwari by- elections, but did not have the courtesy to inform him when he dropped him from the Cabinet. “After Babu Jagajeevan Ram, it is Mallikarjuna Kharge, who has enjoyed power for most of  his political career. But I was made a scapegoat to make his son a minister,” he  regretted, likening  KPCC president, Dr. G. Parameshwar to the headmaster of a “ deaf and dumb school.”

Welcoming him into the party, BJP state president, B.S.Yeddyurappa said Mr Prasad would be given his due considering his seniority and popularity. “ I have promised Mr. Prasad that the party will not ignore his stature. It is the party’s responibility to ensure his victory in the Nanjanagud by-elections,” he said.

Prasad’s career
A popular Dalit leader,  Mr Srinivas Prasad  was elected MP from Chamarajanagar five times. He began his political career by contesting from the Krishnaraja Assembly constituency in the early 70s and won for the first time from Chamarajanagar in 1980.  He was defeated by JD(S) candidate Siddaraju in 1996 and 1998. He quit the Congress and joined Lok Shakti of Ramakrishna Hegde in 1996 and when the outfit merged with JD(U),  he contested the  1999 LS polls on its ticket. His win saw him inducted into Vajpayee cabinet. Mr Prasad joined Samatha Party and did not contest the 2004 LS poll, but supported JD(S). In 2008, he entered state politics and won from Nanjangud on Congress ticket was made Revenue Minister.