Bengaluru: N. S. Boseraju, who was sworn in as one of the ministers of the 34-strong Siddaramaiah Cabinet has come as a surprise to all, mainly to his political rivals and ministerial hopefuls in Raichur District. Boseraju has been a veteran politician, who has served as an MLA twice, and as an MLC once. But what has set the political grapevine abuzz is that Boseraju is not a member of either House of the Karnataka Legislature and therein lies the intriguing tale.
Having worked hard for the revival of the Congress in the District over the last few years, Boseraju belongs to the backward Raju family that migrated to Raichur from the undivided Andhra Pradesh. A quintessential Congressman, he was keen on contesting from Raichur, from where he had a bright chance of winning. He wanted the ticket for himself, or his son but the Congress High Command wanted to give the ticket to a Muslim, and Boseraju was persuaded to drop his demand. He was assured that he would be made an MLC and would be given higher responsibilities. The Congress nominated Mohammed Shalam lost to Dr. Shivaraj Patil by 3,700 votes.
While a section of the Congress party in Raichur has expressed its dissatisfaction with Boseraju being made a Minister, another section is happy with the development. The supporters of Boseraju claim that he has served the District well, particularly in the area of irrigation, by projecting the cause of farmers in the tail-end areas of Krishna Canal.
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