Bengaluru: As chief minister DK Shivakumar looks to expand his cabinet with fresh faces, a new political headache has cropped up in the form of KPCC president BK Hariprasad’s demand for a change in the compositions of boards and corporations in the state.There are 90 boards and corporations in the state with 1,118 posts of chairpersons and members.Soon after taking charge as the new president of the Congress state unit, Hariprasad said in his opening remarks: “There was an agreement which has been honoured by the outgoing CM Siddaramaiah and you — Shivakumar, becoming the CM after two and a half years. Now, with that being resolved, it is time that fresh faces are inducted into even the boards and corporations as chairpersons and members.”Hariprasad provided a cricket analogy. Siddaramaiah had played the first innings and for the second innings to be played by Shivakumar, there needs to be a fresh set of players across board to understand the pitch which is changing, he said.“Let there be a new set of leaders and workers who can reap the benefits of their blood and sweat, who brought the party to victory in 2023. It is time to appoint an entirely new set of chairpersons and members to the boards and corporations,” said Hariprasad.The KPCC president was blunt in his statements and said that power was no one person’s asset and everyone who toiled for the party to come to power in 2023 must be rewarded.He went on to add that the bigger challenge for the party is to tackle the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and the inflation in the country, which is hurting the people even in the state.Meanwhile, former CM and now CWC member Siddaramaiah said he is fully backing Hariprasad to take the party to the next level and will be more aggressive in tackling RSS and BJP, which are “anti-constitutional and believe in dictatorial rule”.He urged the party cadre to ensure that they strengthen the hands of Hariprasad and play a pivotal role in bringing Congress to power again in 2028 and also strive to make their national leader Rahul Gandhi as the next prime minister in 2029.Earlier, Shivakumar said he is happy to hand over the position of KPCC president to another loyal worker of Congress who has come up from the rank and file of the party.He said Hariprasad will get full cooperation from the govt to ensure that the party is strengthened to make a bid to return to power in the state and also at the Centre.
