2014 LS polls: SP sets sights on Karnataka

The move also aims at fulfilling Mulayam’s dream of earning the tag of ‘national party’ for the SP.

Sources said former Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa,who has a blow-hot-blow-cold relationship with his party BJP,too,has held parleys with the SP leadership.

SP has managed to rope in Baba Gouda Patil,a Lingayat community leader who was union minister of state for rural development during the NDA regime headed by A B Vajpayee in 2002. Patil,who was in a political exile,is learnt to have formally joined the SP. His area of influence is in the Belgaum region.

The party has also attracted farmer leader Basavraj Ballagi and appointed him state general secretary. A Lingayat leader,Basavraj has been associated for past two decades with the Karnataka Rajya Raita Sanghthan (Karnataka State Farmers’ Association). He enjoys a clout among the farmer community.

“ I have been appointed state general secretary of the party. We are concentrating on a few districts where we can get a foothold. We expect to give a good show during the Lok Sabha elections. Both Mulayam Singh and Akhilesh Yadav will be visiting the state,till then we are concentrating on building the party base,” said Basavraj.

Another prominent leader,Samad Naseer,whose father Naseer Ahmed was a minister during the Ramkrishna Hegde regime,too,has joined the SP.

Basavraj said several programmes have been finalised for the party which will be attended by Mulayam and Akhilesh. At present,the party is concentrating on Raichur,Gulbarga,Belgaum and Shimoga districts.

SP earlier had a Karnataka connection when former CM S Bangarappa won the Shimoga parliamentary seat on SP ticket in 2006. That,however,was more of a personal achievement on Bangarappa’s part. His family members later joined the JD(S).

Among those who have been inducted in the party so far is Vinay N,grandson of former CM S Nijalingappa. “Some family members of former Vice-President B D Jatti too have been approached by SP and they have given good response,” said Basavraj. Jatti’s family is also a Lingayat and hail from Bijapur.

Akhilesh,too,has a Karnataka connection. He has studied engineering in Mysore and many of his friends from Mysore were at the swearing-in ceremony. In fact,some of his friends have come in handy in contacting various leaders. Banagalore-based SP leader Rajeev Rai,who was briefly brought in UP during the elections,is also active.