Jivijaya joins Cong(I)

By S. Rajendran

BANGALORE, FEB. 7. The State Congress(I) today received a shot in the arm with the former minister and senior political leader from Kodagu, Mr. B. A. Jivijaya, joining the party in the presence of the Chief Minister and KPCC(I) president, Mr. S. M. Krishna.

Mr. Jivijaya shot into limelight in 1983 when he stunned the Congress(I) by defeating the then Chief Minister, R. Gundu Rao, in the election to the Legislative Assembly from the Somwarpet Constituency. He went on to become the Minister for Forests in the Ramakrishna Hegde Cabinet although he won the election for the first time.

Soon after his admission to the Congress(I) Mr. Jivijaya (60) told TheHindu that he was happy to get back to the political mainstream. He had resigned from the Lok Shakti prior to the recent elections when the party in a way ``cheated him'' by denying him ticket although he was the senior vice-president. Despite stating that he would be the candidate of the Janata Dal (United) - BJP alliance, the Somwarpet Constituency was earmarked to the BJP, whose candidate, Mr. Appachu Ranjan, won the election by a narrow margin of 3,000 votes against Mr. Jivjaya who chose to contest as an independent.

Mr. Jivijaya said with his formal entry into the Congress (I), he would strive to strengthen the party in Kodagu, Dakshin Kannada and parts of the Hassan district.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Regional
Previous : Works sanctioned without funds
Next     : Kollam SP march turns violent