Former CM Krishna’s grand-nephew joins Karnataka Congress

BENGALURU: The Karnataka unit of the Congress party, which has been facing criticism ever since former chief minister SM Krishna switched to the BJP in January, seemingly pulled off a minor coup when it inducted his grand-nephew into the party on Wednesday.

Nirantara Ganesh, a doctor, joined the party and brought 35 doctors with him.

Speaking at the event, Ganesh said his decision was a long-pending one.

“My family has been associated with the Congress for a very long time,” Ganesh said.

“The state government in Karnataka, headed by chief minister Siddarmaiah, has been working to ensure healthcare is affordable for the poor. Hence, I decided to join the party and help it in this goal.”

Contradicting the claims of Krishna, who had called the current government the worst in Karnataka’s history, Ganesh said people had to avoid taking a narrow view.

“Unlike the government in the recent past, this government has worked for the welfare of people in rural areas, where the majority of the population resides,” Ganesh said.

Krishna, who was chief minister between 1999 and 2004 and was instrumental in making the state the information technology hub in the country, was criticised then for focusing on Bengaluru.

When asked if Ganesh consulted his grand uncle, he said, “my role model is Gundu Rao, I decided to follow in his footsteps.”

“[Krishna]’s decision was his own and I cannot comment on the reasons for his decision to shift to the BJP,” he said.

“My family has been associated with this party and I wanted to help it,” he added.

Gundu Rao said Ganesh had been planning to join the party even before Krishna announced his decision.

“This is not a decision arrived at overnight. We have been discussing it over the past six months,” he said.