Former Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, who played a key role in shaping brand Bengaluru by giving an impetus to IT/ITeS and biotechnology sectors, has quit the Congress after serving it for 46 years.
Krishna, who was External Affairs Minister in the Manmohan Singh Cabinet, expressed pain over being consistently ignored by the party.
“I felt that Congress doesn’t need me, the party now depends on managers. They do not want time-tested leaders and workers,” the veteran politician said, accusing the party of using the age factor to sideline him. He said he had worked tirelessly for the party and campaigned extensively ahead of the 2013 Assembly elections, which the Congress won. “Nobody questioned my age then. Unfortunately, it is somebody else who decides, not me,” he said.
“My disillusionment started after I was dropped from the Union Cabinet as External Affairs Minister,” said Krishna, also served as Maharashtra Governor.
The man who strengthened the Congress in Karnataka’s urban areas, which were once the domain of the BJP, has quit when Assembly elections are only a year away. The ruling Congress is facing a tough challenge from a BJP strengthened by the return of former Chief Minister BS Yeddyurappa as the party’s State chief.
Krishna, who hails from the dominant Vokkaliga caste, enjoyed the support of his community, but with his cosmopolitan outlook and foreign education — he was a Fulbright scholar — he was respected by all.
Krishna’s sudden decision has sent shock waves across the party, especially among his followers, some of whom are key ministers in Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s Cabinet.
During his chief ministership from 1999 to 2004, Krishna had emerged as a leader with a vision and was known for executing key projects with finesse. His constitution of the Bangalore Agenda Task Force (BATF), a non-official forum to give shape to a global city, was backed by key companies such as Infosys, Wipro, Biocon and others, helping civic agencies co-ordinate among themselves in the execution of ‘need-based’, on-time’ projects.
“Age is a state of mind, age should not be criteria, there are people who are young, but not active,” he added. Krishna, who also served as the Governor of Maharashtra, said “I have seen both ups and downs in life. I have won elections and have been defeated.”
Asked about his future plan, he said “I need some time. I have quit the party without any consultations with my loyalists. I consulted only my wife.”
Replying to a question on whether he was unhappy with the manner in which party Vice-President Rahul Gandhi was running the party, Krishna said: “When we look at a party, we look towards the party president and not the vice president or secretaries.”
Asked whether was ditching the party after its worst-ever defeat in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls and almost 13 months before the next Assembly elections in Karnataka, Krishna explained “I am quitting the party. There is a world of difference between ditching and quitting.”