Ending weeks of speculation surrounding the appointment of new president for the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), the All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Wednesday named five-time MLA and former Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao for the post.
Mr. Rao, 48, is said to be the choice of AICC president Rahul Gandhi. His appointment is seen as a resolve to galvanise the Congress to face the all-important Lok Sabha elections, which are a few months away.
MLA from Bhalki and former Minister Eshwar B. Khandre, who is a Veerashaiva–Lingayat community leader, has been appointed working president, the post earlier held by Mr. Rao.
Three-time MLA Mr. Khandre, 56, holds an engineering degree. He is the son of the former Minister and former president of the Akhila Bharata Veerashaiva Mahasabha Bheemanna Khandre. His appointment is seen as an attempt to maintain regional balance as well as win the confidence of the dominant community.
With this, many feel that the party has preferred leaders from forward castes to head the party after eight years.
Mr. Rao, who has been kept out of the Janata Dal (Secular)–Congress coalition government, was one of the few senior legislators who did not express dissent publicly, and worked towards pacifying dissenting legislators.
The reshuffle in the Congress hierarchy comes as the party is gearing up for the 2019 general elections for which it may put up an united fight along with the JD(S) in the State.
Several Congress leaders, including former Ministers S.R. Patil, H.K. Patil, M.B. Patil, and Mr. Khandre, and K.H. Muniyappa, MP, had lobbied hard for the KPCC president’s post. But, Mr. Gandhi preferred Mr. Rao for his party loyalty and proximity to the former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Mr. Rao also has a good rapport with young legislators and leaders.
Mr. Rao, who holds an engineering degree, is the youngest leader to assume the coveted post in the State Congress. Born on October 9, 1969, he is the son of the former Chief Minister late Gundu Rao. He was serving as working president of the KPCC (in-charge of south Karnataka). Deputy Chief Minister G. Parameshwara held the KPCC’s top post for the past eight years.
Earlier, Mr. Rao has served as KPCC Youth Congress president, Bengaluru Urban DCC president, and Minister for Food and Civil Supplies in the Siddaramaiah government. He represents the Gandhinagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru.
Mr. Rao is the 22nd president of the KPCC and the third Brahmin leader to occupy the post since 1970 after V. Krishna Rao (1992–95) and Revenue Minister R.V. Deshpande (2008–10).
Mr. Rao told The Hindu he would take a pledge to work alongside party workers and face challenges as a team to win seats in the coming Lok Sabha elections. He thanked Mr. Gandhi for reposing confidence in him.