The Hindu : Kumar Bangarappa had no alternative

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Mar 04, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Kumar Bangarappa had no alternative

By Pramod Mellegatti

SHIMOGA, MARCH 3. The resignation of Kumar Bangarappa as Minister of State for Town Municipal Councils and Panchayats and from the primary membership of the Congress in Bangalore today was expected despite the claim by local party leaders that he would not leave the party.

Mr. Kumar Bangarappa, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly twice from the Sorab constituency in Shimoga district (first as the Karnataka Congress Party candidate in 1996 and as the Congress candidate in 1999), apparently found no alternative but to quit owing to the compelling situation brought about by the resignation of his father, S. Bangarappa, former Chief Minister and member of the dissolved Lok Sabha from Shimoga. Mr. Kumar Bangarappa, who was reportedly under immense pressure to resign, is said to have remained incommunicado till he decided to resign today.

Known as a mild and gentle person, Mr. Kumar Bangarappa makes a striking contrast to his father, who is assertive. He had a brief stint as a film actor and donned the main roles in many Kannada films. He was a stranger to politics and never wielded influence even when his father was the Chief Minister. He entered politics in 1996 when he was asked to contest the byelection to fill the vacancy in the Sorab Assembly constituency caused by the election of his father to the Lok Sabha (Mr. S. Bangarappa represented Sorab in the Assembly continuously from 1967 till he was elected to the Lok Sabha from the Shimoga constituency). He was elected as the candidate of the KCP, a regional political party founded by his father soon after the latter was asked to resign as Chief Minister. In 1999, he was elected to the Assembly from Sorab as the Congress candidate.

Mr. Kumar Bangarappa identified himself with his father openly in the latter's political activities though he remained a member of the Congress. However, it is learnt that there were personal differences between them.

The Congress leaders did not take any action against him for anti-party activities.

The only prominent Congress leader in the Shimoga district whose course of action is being watched with keen interest is Mir Azeez Ahmed, President of the Shimoga District Congress Committee. Although he is a confidant of Mr. S. Bangarappa, he has reportedly announced that he will not leave the party.

While Mr. Kumar Bangarappa did not have much to lose by resigning from the Congress, Mr. Ahmed may not take a quick decision as he was only recently elected to the Legislative Council.

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