Bengaluru: Union Home Minister and BJP National President Amit Shah appointed Dakshina Kannada MP Nalin Kumar Kateel as the new BJP State President, yesterday.

His appointment came as a surprise to many as there were other senior party leaders in the race for the top post. Kateel, 53, having RSS background, belongs to Bunt community and his name to the post is said to have been recommended by BJP National General Secretary (Organisation) B.L. Santosh.  

Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa (BSY), who was also serving as the BJP State President, is said to have favoured Arvind Limbavali as his replacement.

It may be recalled that BSY and B.L. Santosh had held a long meeting at Karnataka Bhavan in New Delhi couple of days back to decide on the Cabinet which was formed yesterday.

Sources said that since Yediyurappa had his way while deciding his Cabinet colleagues, Santosh recommended his confidant Nalin Kumar Kateel’s name for the top post.

Earlier, the names of C.T. Ravi, Arvind Limbavali and R. Ashoka were being considered for the post. However, with Ravi and Ashoka appointed as Ministers and High Command not so keen on Limbavali, they had to decide on Kateel. 

Through Kateel’s appointment, BJP has tried to calm down its party workers in Dakshina Kannada who were upset as no representation was given to the region in the Cabinet. 

Kateel, an Agriculturist and Civil Contractor, joined RSS at a very young age and became its Pracharak at the age of 18. Later, he joined BJP and served as Dakshina Kannada District Gen. Secretary in 2004. He entered Lok Sabha for the first time in 2009 and again in 2014 and was elected for the third time during the 2019 General Elections.