The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday appointed the three-time Member of Parliament from Dakshina Kannada, groomed in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) stables, Nalin Kumar Kateel, as president of its Karnataka unit.
The 53-year-old Mr. Kateel will replace Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa who was holding the dual post of State president, along with that of the Chief Minister.
Mr. Yediyurappa had completed his term of three years as State unit president in April. However, the party central leadership wanted to wait till August to take a call on his replacement as it wanted to focus on various other issues before effecting a change of guard.
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Rooted in RSS
Before entering active politics in 2004, Mr. Kateel was actively associated with the RSS for about 15 years. He joined the organisation at the age of 18 and later worked as its pracharak, karyavaha, and convener of its Dharma Jagaran Vibhag. The appointment of Mr. Kateel is being seen as an indication that the party wants to give importance to those from its ideological background.
Mr. Kateel entered into active politics as the general secretary of Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP in 2004. Soon after the party fielded him from the delimited Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency in 2009 Parliamentary elections. Mr. Kateel entered Parliament for the first time by defeating the Congress veteran B. Janardhana Poojary in the same election. He won the next two consecutive Lok Sabha elections from Dakshina Kannada. Mr. Kateel won this year’s Lok Sabha election with a margin of 2,74,621 votes.
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Controversies
Mr. Kateel had landed in a controversy last year for supporting a statement by Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur, now Member of Parliament, hailing Nathuram Godse as a “patriot”. Later he retracted his statement.
Earlier in January 2017 at a protest meeting in Konaje, near Mangaluru, he made a controversial statement by saying that the BJP workers were capable enough of setting Dakshina Kannada on fire if police failed to arrest persons involved in a murder of a youth, who was son of a BJP worker.
Party State general secretaries Arvind Limbavali and C.T. Ravi, besides Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar were also in the race for the top post. However, the central unit zeroed in on Mr. Kateel.