Date:18/01/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/01/18/stories/2007011809400300.htm

Karnataka - Belgaum

`Reward dedicated party workers'

Staff Correspondent

BJP legislators should decline appointments

Laxman Saudi was a strong contender for Ministerial berth

`Legislators could capture all the 18 Lok Sabha seats

BELGAUM: Two young BJP MLAs have expressed opposition to the party appointing any MLA/MLC as chairperson to any board or corporation and that opportunity be given to dedicated workers who have been serving the party for a long time.

Laxman Saudi was a strong contender for a ministerial berth when the Janata Dal (S)-BJP coalition came to power, but he could not make it.

He pleaded with BJP's State president D.V. Sadananda Gowda at a party workers' meeting here on Wednesday to give opportunities to activists who worked to get BJP to power.

Party legislators should decline to head boards and corporations in favour of workers, he said.

He took the occasion to draw the attention of Mr. Gowda to the neglect of workers by party legislators, particularly in Belgaum district. He cautioned that the party, which won 8 of the 18 Assembly and two Lok Sabha seats in the district, would have to strive hard to retain them.

If the legislators and workers work hard, the party could capture all the 18 seats, he felt.

Meeting

Mr. Gowda was here to participate in the party workers' meeting as part of his north Karnataka tour aimed at strengthening the organisation in the region.

Shashikant A. Naik, Minister for Horticulture, Suresh Angadi, MP, Jagdish Metgud, BJP district president, Dhanyakumar J. Gunde, Chikkodi (BJP district) president, was also present.

Abhaykumar Patil, MLA, another contender for a ministerial post, pointed out that many of the party legislators had a coterie and had become self-serving.

Felicitated

The State BJP president, who was felicitated on the occasion, called upon the partymen to continue to work hard to strengthen the base in rural areas.

He said the party had decided to form a group of 200 dedicated activists, which would work to strengthen the party all over the State.

Workshops and conferences at the district level would be held to train workers, he added.

Earlier, Mr. Naik felt that the party legislators should get closer to the workers in their respective constituencies if they wanted BJP to return to power on its own. Mr. Angadi and Mr. Gunde also spoke on the occasion.