Dinesh Gundu Rao, a five-time MLA from Gandhinagara in Bengaluru, has been appointed president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee.
AICC general secretary Ashok Gehlot announced the appointment in a press release issued on Wednesday. Rao (48) will be replacing G. Parameshwara, who held the post for the last eight years. Bhalki MLA Eshwara Khandre will replace Rao as the working president.
After Parameshwara was sworn in as the deputy chief minister, the race for KPCC chief's post had many contenders including veteran leaders like Kolar MP K.H. Muniyappa (dalit), H.K. Patil (Reddy-Lingayat), AICC general secretary B.K. Hariprasad and Babaleshwar MLA M.B. Patil (Lingayat). However, the party high command sprang a surprise by appointing a Brahmin, a very small community in the state.
According to sources, Rao's candidature was backed by former chief minister Siddaramaiah even as the tussle between seniors and juniors had caused embarrassment to the party. Rao, a youth leader who enjoys the confidence of the party high command for his organisational skills and amicable nature, is considered a safe bet, especially when the party is sharing power in the state with the JD(S) and headed towards the crucial Lok Sabha polls in 2019. Rao's elevation comes at a time when the Congress Party is trying to look beyond its traditional vote base of Ahinda (Kannada acronym for minorities, backward classes) and trying to win dominant communities, too.
Rao, the second son of late former chief minister Gundu Rao, was elected the state Youth Congress president in 1998. In the following year, he was fielded from Gandhinagara constituency. A party loyalist, Rao has served as food and civil supplies minister in the Siddaramaiah cabinet.