K. S. Eshwarappa

Kuruba[2] Sharanappa[3] Eshwarappa (born 10 June 1948)[4] is an Indian senior politician who is the current Rural development and Panchayat Raj minister of Karnataka. He is a senior leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka. He was the seventh Deputy Chief minister in the BJP government headed by Jagadish Shettar from 2012 to 2013. On 20 August 2019 he was inducted as a Cabinet Minister in the BJP government led by B.S. Yediyurappa. He served as Leader of the Opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Council (2014-2018).

K. S. Eshwarappa
Minister of Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Government of Karnataka
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 August 2019
Preceded by	Krishna Byre Gowda
6th Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka
In office 12 July 2012 – 12 May 2013
Preceded by	B. S. Yeddyurappa
Succeeded by	G. Parameshwara
Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sports Government of Karnataka
In office 27 September 2019 – 10 February 2020
Preceded by	Rahim Khan,INC
Succeeded by	C. T. Ravi
Leader of Opposition in Karnataka Legislative Council
In office 13 July 2014 – 29 May 2018
Preceded by	D. V. Sadananda Gowda, (BJP)
Succeeded by	Kota Srinivas Poojary
Member of Karnataka Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 Aug 2019
Preceded by	K. B. Prasanna Kumar
Constituency	Shivamogga
President of the Bharatiya Janata Party,Karnataka
In office 2 Janauray 2010 – 11 July 2012
Preceded by	D V Sadananda Gowda
Succeeded by	Prahlad Joshi
Personal details
Born	10 June 1948 Ballari,[1] Mysore State, India
Political party	Bharatiya Janata Party
Residence	Bengaluru

Early life

K. S. Eshwarappa was born in Bellary. His father Sharanappa moved to Shimoga in the early 1950s. His parents worked in the Bhoopalam Areca Mandi as daily wage workers. When young Eshwarappa also tried to go to work with his parents, his mother opposed the move and urged him to concentrate on his education and earn a good name in society. This inspiration that he got in his childhood, eventually led him to become a social worker.

As a child, Eshwarappa was interested in sports and music. One amongst his classmates was D. M. Ravindra who later became the Prant Pracharak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (R.S.S). Narasimha Murthy Iyengar, a well-known V.H.P leader in Shimoga introduced him to the RSS during his childhood. Thus, his public life began as an activist of the RSS.

While he was a student in the National Commerce College, Shimoga, he actively worked with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (A.B.V.P), the student wing of RSS. After his graduation, he started his own private business in Shimoga city. He also involved himself with the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh.

Political Career

During Emergency (1975–77), he was arrested and detained in the Bellary Jail. After the removal of emergency, he became very active in politics. He worked in different capacities and in 1982, became the president of the Shimoga city unit of BJP. His personal efforts were one of the main reasons in M. Ananda rao winning from Shimoga as the first ever BJP candidate.

In 1989, he contested the Karnataka assembly elections as a BJP candidate from Shimoga and defeated a heavyweight, the then health Minister K. H. Srinivas by a margin of 1,304 votes. He became popular with this victory and went on to win four more times from this constituency, losing only once in 1999. In 1992, he became the President of the State unit of BJP and was instrumental in his party's good performance in the 1994 state assembly elections. In 2000, he was appointed as the Chairman of the Central Silk Board when the NDA government was in power.[5]

In the BJP-JDS coalition Government headed by H. D. Kumaraswamy, he was Minister for Water Resources.[6] Following the historic victory of the BJP in the Karnataka state elections in 2008, he became the minister for Power in the B.S. Yeddyurappa government.[7]

In January 2010, he resigned as minister and was unanimously elected as the President of the Karnataka state unit of the ruling BJP.[8] This move was seen as BJP’s strategy to tackle opposition leader in the assembly Siddaramaiah, who also belongs to the same community.[9]

In July 2012, following the resignation of D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Jagadish Shettar was appointed the Chief minister and Eshwarappa became Deputy Chief minister. He was also entrusted with the Revenue and Rural development portfolio's.[10][11] He then stepped down as the State BJP president and was succeeded by Prahlad Joshi.[12][13]

In the 2013 Assembly elections, Eshwarappa contested again from the Shimoga assembly constituency and lost to K. B. Prasanna Kumar of the Congress by a margin of nearly 6,000 votes.[14]

However, he was nominated by his party to the Karnataka Legislative Council in 2014[15] and became the Leader of the Opposition in the council.[16]

References

1. Wikipedia early life and Myneta}{
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4. "City today".
5. "Gradual ascent of K S Eshwarappa". The New Indian Express. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
6. "Eshwarappa, Horatti among 20 Cabinet Ministers sworn in". The Hindu. 18 February 2006.
7. "No power crisis in State: Eshwarappa". Deccan Herald.
8. "K.S. Eshwarappa all set to become State BJP president". The Hindu. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
9. "K. S. Eshwarappa elected Karnataka BJP chief". The Hindu. 28 January 2010. Retrieved 1 February 2010.
10. "2 Deputy CMs for Karnataka". The Hindu. 10 July 2012.
11. "Shettar keeps Finance, Eshwarappa gets Revenue portfolio". The Hindu. 12 July 2012.
12. "Eshwarappa steps down as State BJP president". The Hindu. 9 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
13. "Pralhad Joshi appointed Karnataka BJP president". The Hindu. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
14. "12 ministers fall as Congress storms back to power in Karnataka, BJP decimated". The Times of India. 5 May 2013. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
15. "BJP favours Kore for RS, Eshwarappa for Council". The Hindu. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
16. "Eshwarappa takes charge as Leader of Opposition in Council". The Hindu. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 26 June 2016.