In the last one week, two personalities from Karnataka hit the headlines nationally, Roger Binny and Mallikarjun Kharge.
It so happens sometimes that personalities cutting across various walks of life and from one end of the spectrum to the other descend and hog the limelight in the same timeline. The case in point here is Karnataka. Yes, you could say that this is a period when you see the rising faces from the South, one of India’s progressive and prosperous states blessed by Mother Nature.
In the last week, two personalities reached the crescendo in their respective streams—Roger Binny, who now occupies arguably one of the richest sporting bodies in the world, the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) as its president, and Mallikarjun Kharge, who was selected, err…elected as the new president of the Indian National Congress or All India Congress Committee (AICC).
The latest additions to an illustrious list of people who are already on the national canvas make one wonder if it is the golden era for the state which is seeing a steady rise of the Kannadigas.
The list can be a long one, and one could argue till the cows come home. Having said this let us narrow it down to a handful to dissect their persona and find out what clicks for them…
ROGER BINNY
An Anglo-Indian Bengaluru boy, Binny, who hogged the limelight in the epic 1983 World Cup, was one of the key persons in the team which was often called Kapil’s Devils. Apart from being one of India’s most successful all-rounders, he held several important positions as coach of the under-19 Indian team, KSCA president, and also chief selector of the Indian cricket team before taking up the big job at the BCCI.
A thorough gentleman, this seemingly unassuming former cricketer took a Metro ride to KSCA to file his nomination last week for the post. A wildlife enthusiast and an avid angler, he spends a lot of time in his farm near Bandipur Tiger Reserve. The 67-year-old has four pet dogs—and they accompany him to the farm all the time. He had a brief stint as a politician too as he was nominated to the Karanataka Assembly under the Anglo-Indian quota. His son Stuart Binny too is a cricketer, who has represented India.
His stint as administrator started in 1997, when he was elected as vice president of KSCA and then went on to become a national selector in 2012. In 2019, he came back as KSCA president in the middle of the Karnataka Premier League match-fixing scandal and handled it deftly.
MALLIKARJUN KHARGE
The nine-time MLA, two-time Member of Parliament from Gulbarga, the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, the octogenarian Dalit leader from Karnataka is famously known as the consensus builder in the grand old party.
After being asked by the dispensation to file his nomination against Shashi Tharoor, he garnered over 85% of the votes which catapulted him to the AICC president’s post. His foray into Urdu has made him quite popular in Delhi circles. Back home, being the son of a union leader, his leadership skills led him to the Congress party in 1969. He worked for uplifting the SCs and STs and rose the ranks as a backward class leader.
He was the opposition leader when S.M. Krishna was KPCC president. In 1998, Congress defeated the Janata Dal and came to power. He narrowly missed the Chief Minister’s chair and went on to become the Home Minister. His stint as HM was a tough one and most challenging because of two big cases—the kidnapping of thespian Dr Raj Kumar by Veerappan and a fake stamp paper scam involving the infamous Telgi. While Raj Kumar was in the forest with the brigand for 104 days, these just over three months saw tensions throughout the state, leading to clashes and raising questions over his ability as the Home Minister. The next controversy was a bigger one with far-reaching ramifications as the fake stamp paper case ran deeper with the involvement of politicians from the Congress party. The sheer size and volume of the scam that ran into thousands of crores sent shivers down the spine and tremors were felt in New Delhi.
Kharge was always a man of the establishment and close to the Gandhis. His Delhi tenure has been successful so far, being a Labour Minister and then Railway Minister in the UPA regimes. He went on to become the Opposition leader in the Lok Sabha and when he was defeated by his own protégé in 2019, Umesh Jadhav, the Gandhis brought him to the Rajya Sabha and made him Leader of the Opposition from where now he has become party president as the Gandhis decided to stay away from the president’s office. He has a big challenge ahead, be it on the Rajasthan issue, the Assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and then Karnataka, his home state, where D.K. Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah are at loggerheads.
Converted to Buddhism, Kharge keeps a low profile and is seen moving around with this close aide, mainly Nassir Hussain. His son Priyank Kharge is a former minister in the Siddaramaiah and H.D. Kumaraswamy cabinets. An astute politician, Priyank is well-versed in state issues and has information at the back of his hand. He has been quite active during Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra.
B.S. YEDIYURAPPA
The four-time former Chief Minister of Karnataka was appointed to the Central Election Committee and the Parliamentary Board of the BJP recently. The Lingayat strongman was asked to step down last year due to age-related issues. The BJP needs him more than ever if it has to come to power. The undefeated BSY from Shimoga has never completed a term as CM but remains the most popular leader of the BJP in Karnataka.
B.L. SANTOSH
Bommarabettu Laxmijanardhana Santhosh, the national general secretary of the BJP is known to be close to the top three of the BJP and keeps a very low profile. Having the distinction of not giving any interview to the media so far, he has been perceived as the bete noir of B.S. Yediyurappa as the former was in charge of the Karnataka state unit as organising secretary, when the latter had quit the party to form KJP. Roped in first as a joint secretary during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections as South in-charge, he grew within the party over the next few years. He played a key role in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand Assembly elections. He is also perceived to be a Sangh man in his political role in the saffron party. He is someone who is attributed to have spotted and groomed youth leaders such as Pratap Simha and Tejasvi Surya, who are now MPs.
PRALHAD JOSHI
The Parliamentary Affairs Minister, who also holds the coal portfolio, is the protégé of the late Ananth Kumar and comes from Hubli. He was the BJP state president when the BJP came to power in 2008. A Brahmin, the senior minister in the Modi cabinet has filled the shoes of Ananth Kumar.
His name was doing the rounds when BSY was asked to step down as the next CM of Karnataka, but it is believed that both Narendra Modi and Amit Shah wanted him to stay at the Centre. Even BSY had proposed his name as his successor.
DATTATREYA HOSABALE
The current General Secretary of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is being groomed to become the next head of the Sangh. He was given charge as GS in March 2021. Insiders say that he is on a mission to set Shakas and an outreach programme which will culminate in the centenary celebrations of RSS in a year. He was arrested during the Emergency for two years. He also served as the general secretary for the student organization, Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad for 15 years.
C.T. RAVI
The National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party and four-time legislator from Chikmagalur, C.T. Ravi was also a BJP Karnataka Yuva Morcha president. His Datta Peeta movement in Baba Budangiri catapulted him to popularity and politics. He has been Education and Tourism Minister before he was given organisational work. The Vokkaliga leader from Malnad region is a strong advocate of Hindutva and is quite popular among the youth. He is believed to have played a key role in the formation of the BJP-Shinde led Shiva Sena coalition in Maharashtra recently.
TEJASVI SURYA
Modi once said you are Tejasvi and Surya, while interacting with Yuva Morcha activists, a comment that went viral. Since then there has been no looking back for the MP from Bengaluru South, a seat which was held by Ananth Kumar. The young Surya, known for his oratory skills, was soon made as national president BYJM. A lawyer, who was handling the IT cell of Karnataka BJP, has risen like nobody else from the state. Insiders say that he has been asked to maintain a low profile and is being trained for a bigger role post 2024 Lok Sabha. Home Minister Amit Shah himself came down to Bengaluru to inaugurate his new office.
B.V. SRINIVAS
Srinivas Bhadravathi Venkata was a cricket player who had played for the under-19 and under-16 Karnataka state cricket teams. Currently the president of the Indian Youth Congress, his popularity rose for his online responses and relief work during the Covid-19 pandemic in Delhi.
He rose into publicity in 2010 when a group of Congress workers along with him mounted a protest against Pramod Muthalik, a staunch right-wing activist in coastal Karnataka and smeared black paint on his face for Muthalik’s vitriolic stand against Valentine’s Day celebrations. He faced disciplinary actions from KPCC following this. However, in October 2010 he received the “Best Youth Congress Worker” award from Rahul Gandhi after the intervention of KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar and since then has been seeing a steady rise.
And then there are others too who make the list like Indian cricket team coach Rahul Dravid, captain of ODIs K.L. Rahul, and world snooker champion Pankaj Advani. The latest sensation is Rishab Shetty, a brilliant filmmaker who has taken Indian cinema by storm through his movie Kantara, which highlights and celebrates the folklore and indigenous Mangaluru life and times.