Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha member B.K. Hariprasad, who has been a staunch loyalist of the Nehru-Gandhi family, is the Congress nominee for Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency, which is considered to be a BJP bastion for the last four decades. He is up against BJP’s greenhorn Tejasvi Surya. Mr. Hariprasad said the circumstances now are different from that in 1999 when he lost to BJP’s Ananth Kumar, and that things are in his favour. Excerpts from an interview:
Your opponent is a 28-year-old youth with a grounding in RSS ideology. How will these two factors work in the constituency?
This is not a wrestling bout. It is a political field and it needs expertise and experience. My experience is my qualification and not my age. I have been a member of nearly 10 standing committees at the Central level. I have been part of international forums at Geneva, U.N. and U.K. I have immense experience, and I can contribute to the development of Bengaluru politically and socially.
The seat has gone the way of BJP for several terms and is seen as a BJP bastion. What are your chances?
The scenario is different now. There is anti-incumbency and people are longing for a change. There is an undercurrent against Prime Minister Narendra Modi because his unilateral decisions on demonetisation and GST have affected every individual. With Bengaluru being a city of opportunities, these decisions have hit people most here.
BJP national president Amit Shah, who recently visited Karnataka for the first time since elections were declared, specifically chose Bengaluru South for his road show. Will it have an effect on voters?
Mr. Shah can never be a role model for the youth of Bengaluru or the people of Karnataka. Because, the man who was debarred from Gujarat by the Supreme Court for two years cannot be a role model for the people of Karnataka, and especially the youth of Bengaluru.
Would Tejaswini Ananth Kumar have put up a better fight?
Definitely. People would have thought that she would take forward some incomplete works of her husband. He was among those who built the BJP.
Do you think the Congress-JD(S) alliance will really help?
Definitely. It is the greatest plus point for Karnataka that both secular parties are together. Co-ordination among the party workers is good in South. We have planned one public meeting of Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on Tuesday in Bengaluru South, and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will also campaign.