BELAGAVI: His first win came on the crest of a Vajpayee popularity wave in 2004, and ever since, Belgaum MP Suresh Angadi did not need to look back. Into his fourth term on the trot, Angadi has successfully managed to keep the Congress at bay. His landslide victory earned him a berth in the Union cabinet as Minister of State for Railways. A law graduate, Angadi is content with his portfolio and says there is huge scope for development of the railway sector in the country. In fact, Angadi has been active on this front for the past decade. He has led many delegations to New Delhi to demand more trains via cities in North Karnataka connecting major stations in North India. 

Many BJP leaders have hailed the decision to induct him into the cabinet and feel that Karnataka will benefit, with Angadi adding pace to the development of his constituency. The Centre recently laid the foundation of a new Belagavi railway station building. Angadi’s story is one of a small-time businessman who built up an empire of sorts. Resident of the tiny K K Koppa village in Belagavi district, Angadi ran a small shop selling cement bags in Belagavi city during his college days.

After completing B.Com and then LLB, Angadi took to business and within a short span of time, expanded it business rapidly through his cement agency. His entry into real estate paid off as he developed several residential and commercial complexes to emerge as a rich businessman in the region. 

When he joined the BJP, Atal Behari Vajpayee was Prime Minister, and the party was struggling to find an able leader to take on the Congress in Belgaum. His popularity as a successful businessman and clean image helped him get a BJP ticket for the first time in the 2004 LS polls. Even as many underestimated his credentials as a leader, he surprised them all, defeating sitting MP Amarsing Patil (Congress) to register his first win. 

Despite his busy political assignments, Angadi did not halt expansion of his business empire. Angadi Institute of Management and Technology, which he launched a few years ago in Belagavi, is gaining a good reputation in North Karnataka.  

Although he came under severe criticism ahead of the recent elections for not doing enough for the development of his constituency, the MP claims credit for implementation of the Smart City project in Belagavi, besides the construction of three railway overbridges, upgradation of the airport, establishment of a Passport Office etc.