The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Profiles of new Ministers

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Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Profiles of new Ministers

Special Correspondent

Jarkiholi was a Minister in the Kumaraswamy government
Anand V. Asnotikar is a first-time MLA

— Photo: Bhagya Prakash K.

New entrants: (From left) Balachandra Jarkiholi, Anand Asnotikar and Shivanagouda Naik after being sworn in as Ministers at the Raj Bhavan in Bangalore on Thursday.

BANGALORE: Forty-one-year-old Balachandra Laxmanrao Jarkiholi has made it to the State Cabinet for the second time.

He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly from Arabhavi constituency in Belgaum district in 2004 on the Janata Dal (Secular) ticket and was Minister for Social Welfare in the H.D. Kumaraswamy Government. He was re-elected to the Assembly from Arabhavi as the party candidate in the recent polls.

Mr. Jarkiholi belongs to the Valmiki (Naik) community. He is a bachelor and he has completed PUC. He is a businessman and also president of the Gokak-based the Ghataprabha Cooperative Sugar Factory.

He hails from the political dominant Jarkiholi family of Gokak, which wields considerable influence in Belgaum district. Two of his younger brothers, Satish and Ramesh, are Congress MLAs from Belgaum district. While Mr. Satish, a former Minister, has been elected from Yemakanamaradi (ST) constituency, Mr. Ramesh is a second-time MLA for Gokak.

K. Shivanagouda Naik

Thirty-one-year-old Shivanagouda Naik, who was elected to the 13th Assembly from Deodurga constituency in Raichur district on the Janata Dal (S) ticket, also belongs to the Valmiki community. Though a political novice, he became a giant-killer by defeating his grandfather and Raichur MP A. Venkatesh Naik in the Assembly elections.

Mr. Naik, a native of Arakere village in the backward Deodurga taluk, is an agriculturist. He is a college dropout.

He was a close follower of former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and served as president of the Deodurga Taluk Panchayat. Incidentally, several MLAs from Deodurga, B.T. Lalitha Naik, B. Shivanna, Alkod Hanumanthappa and A. Pushpavathi, have served as Ministers in the past.

Anand V. Asnotikar

At 28, Anand V. Asnotikar, a businessman, is the youngest Minister in the B.S. Yeddyurappa Government. He made it to the Assembly for the first time by winning the recent elections from Karwar in Uttara Kannada district as a Congress candidate.

Mr. Anand is the son of former Karwar MLA Vasanth Asnotikar, who was shot dead in 2000. His mother Shubalatha is a Congress MLC.

The Asnotikars, who belong to a backward caste, have been closely associated with the Karwar Port and Dock Labourers’ Cooperative Society, Karwar Quarry Contractors’ Association and other trade unions in the coastal town for over two decades.

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