The Hindu : `Sankeshwar trying to emulate Ramoji Rao'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 30, 2003

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

`Sankeshwar trying to emulate Ramoji Rao'

By Our Special Correspondent

Bangalore May 29. Some of the leaders of the State unit of the BJP are of the view that the Dharwad North MP, Vijay Sankeshwar, decided to quit the party and float a regional outfit following the success of his Kannada daily, Vijaya Karnataka.

They said Mr. Sankeshwar had embarked upon starting a new party going by the role played by the Telugu daily, Eenadu, and its editor, Ramoji Rao, in building the Telugu Desam Party in Andhra Pradesh.

Mr. Sankeshwar was nursing similar ambitions in Karnataka. He was trying to exploit the feeling of neglect in some of the districts in North Karnataka, according to them.

The BJP leaders denied the role of the Union Minister for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Ananth Kumar, in the exit of Mr. Sankeshwar from the party. Mr. Ananth Kumar had no intention of changing his parliamentary constituency from Bangalore South to Dharwad North.

There was no reason for it as he had won from Bangalore South three times with ease. Mr. Ananth Kumar had also nursed Bangalore well, and brought projects worth Rs. 10,000 crore to it.

They included the proposed international airport and various Hudco projects. He was now giving attention to the metro rail project. He would be an easy winner from Bangalore South if elections to the Lok Sabha were held.

No doubt there was discontent against him in the party. In fact, it existed even when he was appointed General Secretary of the State unit in the 1980s at a young age and Union Cabinet minister at the age of 38 in 1998, they said.

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`Sankeshwar trying to emulate Ramoji Rao'