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A Cabinet portfolio for the MLA is like a gleeful Congress brass twisting the knife after coming up trumps against the BJP mascot. Evidently, BJP lost no time on Saturday in alleging nepotism.
01:18
Congress leader Priyank Kharge takes oath as Cabinet Minister of Karnataka
In an early start to the BJP campaign, Modi visited Kalaburagi and Yadagiri on January 19, and inaugurated irrigation projects to woo the electorate of Hyderabad-Karnataka region. He also distributed land titles to Banjara community members of newly-declared revenue villages, besides presiding over the political pageantry where he played the traditional drum to the excitement of the gathering.
The Kharge family went on high alert at the PM’s choice of venue for the campaign launch and focus on Banjaras. Priyank has been the sitting MLA from Chittapur of Kalaburagi, and the SC reserved seat has a vast Banjara population.
The reason for concern was obvious. Known as the “unvanquished leader”, Kharge Senior tasted his first electoral defeat in a long career when he lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga. He later blamed PM Modi for “misleading” the Banjaras of his constituency with “false promises” during his focused campaign four years ago. He has all along alleged that Modi targeted him for taking on the government in LS as the ‘leader of opposition’.
Five days after Modi’s visit to his hometown, Kharge met PM at the birth anniversary function of Netaji Subash in the Central Hall of Parliament. As per those within the earshot, Kharge asked the premier if he was bent on defeating the entire family, and jokingly wondered how he only finds Kalaburagi in sprawling Karnataka to campaign everypoll.
Besides earlier visits, Modi also held a massive roadshow in Kalaburagi during his blitzkrieg in May.
Interestingly, Congress also swept the 40-seat Hyderabad region, seen as Kharge’s backyard, winning 26 to 10 against BJP.
