Bengaluru: Former Chamarajanagar MP R. Dhruvanarayan and former Minister Ramalinga Reddy were installed as KPCC (Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee) Working Presidents at a programme held at Chowdaiah Memorial Hall here yesterday, taking the total number of KPCC Working Presidents to five.

The Congress has three other Working Presidents — Satish Jarkiholi, Eshwar Khandre and Salim Ahmed, who were appointed last year.

Speaking on the occasion, KPCC President D.K. Shivakumar said that Dhruvanarayan entered politics as a student leader decades ago and was elected MP from Chamarajanagar twice, before losing by a very thin margin in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Lauding the organisational skills of Dhruvanarayan, Shivakumar said that with his (Dhruva) appointment, there is no doubt that the Congress will perform better in the coming polls. 

Welcoming Mallikarjuna Kharge’s appointment as the Opposition Leader in the Rajya Sabha, the KPCC President said  the appointment shows that Karnataka has many able Congress leaders                                                                      to take on the BJP Government at the Centre.

Recalling the political journey of Ramalinga Reddy, DKS said that Reddy began his political career as a BBMP Corporator and since then, he has never turned back, becoming a Congress MLA from Bengaluru for seven consecutive terms, which is a great achievement. 

Highlighting the organisational plans of the Congress this year, Shivakumar said that all Congress leaders who have left the party over the past few years, will be re-invited. Stating that all those who are willing to return without any conditions will be admitted to the party, he said that he and other top party leaders will tour all Assembly segments which do not have Congress MLAs, for organisation of the party.