For power, go to Shivakumar; for strengthening Congress, come to me: New KPCC chief

Bengaluru: Newly appointed Karnataka Congress President B K Hariprasad on Thursday told party leaders that those who want power and position may go with Chief Minister D K Shivakumar and those who wish strengthening the organisation may follow him.

He stated that his comment had no additional meaning and it meant moving forward by sharing the responsibilities of both the organisation and the government.

The 71-year-old MLC was appointed as the Karnataka Congress president on Wednesday. An OBC leader from Billava community, he replaced CM D K Shivakumar as the state congress chief.


Shivakumar had been the Karnataka Pradesh Congress chief from 2020 till he assumed the office of chief minister on Wednesday.

"My prayer to everyone in the party is, Rahul Gandhi, Mallikarjun Kharge, Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi are fighting our cause. When they are fighting our cause, we have to give strength to them, to do that we should also get on to the streets and fight," Hariprasad said responding to a question whether senior leaders who were not made ministers will be utilised for party organisation work.

Speaking to reporters here, he said: "Those who want power and positions, go with D K Shivakumar. All those who want to grow the Congress party strongly and want to strengthen the hands of Sonia Gandhi, Kharge come with me. This is what I want to say. There is no other colour in what I'm saying. What I'm saying is going forward by sharing the responsibilities of organisation and government."

Asserting that he will make all honest efforts to take the party forward, he also assured the Congress workers that he is with them.

Hariprasad thanked Congress leadership including Sonia Gandhi, AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, party general secretaries Priyanka Gandhi, K C Venugopal and Randeep Singhh Surjewala for appointing him as the KPCC President.

Stating that he is happy with the appointment, he said that from his student days, he has the experience of working from the block to the national level, and this experience will be helpful during his presidency of the KPCC. He said he will officially take charge after meeting the Congress leadership in Delhi.

Clarifying that he never said he wanted to become minister, the new party chief said: "I'm not here for power, I'm a soldier and worker of the Congress party, who abides by its ideology, principles and the constitution....I have worked for the party for 53 years at various levels in 20 states, working for party and knowing this country is my passion."

He said Shivakumar, who worked for the organisation as KPCC President is now the Chief Minister. Similarly, G Parameshwara is the Deputy CM. Everyone under the leadership's guidance, will take the state forward.

Hariprasad said his biggest responsibility is fighting against the removal of real voters from the voters list through the process of SIR and CAA, by misusing constitutional institutions.

"To protect the idea of India, we will have to take all religions, castes and languages together. We will have to fight against those conspiring against it, and not for any power or position. The ideology and principles that the Congress party believes in should be taken further," he added.

Accusing the BJP and RSS of snatching and hijacking the democratic process, Hariprasad said he will have to fight the BJP and RSS in Karnataka.

He expressed confidence that Congress will come back to power in the state in 2028, as it has fulfilled the promises made to people in 2023, most importantly maintaining peace and law and order.