The Hindu : National / Elections 2004 : B.S. Patil, Congress candidate, Dharwad Lok Sabha seat

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Saturday, Apr 24, 2004

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National - Elections 2004

B.S. Patil, Congress candidate, Dharwad Lok Sabha seat

The transition has been swift for B.S. Patil, the former Chief Secretary of Karnataka turned Congress candidate for the Dharwad North Lok Sabha seat from Karnataka. Babugowda Sanganagowda Patil retired as the Chief Secretary on January 31 this year and was made the very next day the Special Representative of Karnataka in New Delhi, a post reserved for politicians, having the status of a cabinet minister. It was only a stopgap arrangement, as was clear from the fact that he joined the Congress soon in the presence of Sonia Gandhi, and is now the party nominee for the Dharwad Lok Sabha seat.

The changeover from the head of civil service in the State to the rough and tumble of politics is marked. Mr. Patil, who used to wear a suit and tie, has now switched over to khadi. "Otherwise the people cannot take me as one of their own," he says. The rigours of electioneering have made him miss his daily golf session. His efforts to speak in Kannada cannot disguise the difficulty he has with the language; his clipped English accent surfaces to the amusement of listeners.

The question he is often asked how he managed to get the party ticket. He has been accommodated by the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and the party high command, without disturbing his two brothers, the elder R. S. Patil and the younger G. S. Patil, both of whom are now fighting to retain the Bagalkot parliamentary seat and the Assembly seat from Ron in Gadag district. "I had made it clear that I do not want to step into their shoes. They have been in politics for years while I am just entering," Mr. Patil says.

"It just happened that the Chief Minister rang me up one day in New Delhi and asked me to be ready for the poll and I am here," is the explanation he gives for his entry. He says he had no great fascination for politics. But, "having come now, I feel that I can put my experience to better use. Besides I belong to this place and I love it."

But this is not taken seriously by those who have watched him rise in the civil service. For, Mr. Patil has always been comfortable in the company of his political masters. As the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, the late J. H. Patel, he virtually ruled the State. His appointment as the Chief Secretary by the Krishna Government, superseding a senior, came mainly because the Government wanted to appease the Lingayats, who were upset that the Government failed to secure the release of former Minister Nagappa from the clutches of the forest brigand Veerappan.

Why did Mr. Krishna favour him with the ticket to contest the elections? "May be it is because of the way I managed to dovetail administrative and political views in taking any decision. Mr. Krishna hardly spent any sleepless nights after I took over as the Chief Secretary." But knowledgeable sources say that it was more because of the "political service" he has rendered to Mr. Krishna. Mr. Patil has declared the assets standing in his name, of his wife and children at about Rs. 5.2 crore.

M. Madan Mohan

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