A.H. Vishwanath, BJP MLC, addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Thursday.
| Photo Credit: M.A. Sriram
Critic of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, A.H. Vishwanath, BJP MLC, hailed the appointment of D.K. Shivakumar as the new Karnataka Chief Minister and urged him to prove that he can be as good an administrator as he is an organiser.Addressing a press conference in Mysuru on Thursday, Mr. Vishwanath said that Mr. Shivakumar, who has risen from being an ordinary worker in the 1980s to the position of Chief Minister, has proven to be a good organiser in the party. Now, the time had come to prove himself to be a good administrator, Mr. Vishwanath said urging the new Chief Minister to prioritise education and health.Expressing hope that Mr. Shivakumar would address several administrative gaps in the previous regime, Mr. Vishwanath said there is still much more work to be done in Mysuru. He added that the residents of the city and district are looking forward to positive developments during Mr. Shivakumar’s rule.Further endorsing the choice of party leader B.K. Hariprasad for the post of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, Mr. Vishwanath noted that Mr. Shivakumar as Chief Minister and Mr. Hariprasad as the KPCC chief would make a good combination.The BJP MLC pointed out that parties are built by their workers, but ruined by their leaders. A former Congressman himself, Mr. Vishwanath expressed confidence that Mr. Shivakumar and Mr. Hariprasad would successfully advance the party’s interests.Mr. Vishwanath appreciated Mr. Shivakumar’s decision to not only seek the blessings of veteran politicians like former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa and senior Congressman Mallikarjun Kharge, but also pay visits to temples.He said Mr. Shivakumar’s conduct has helped remove the view in certain sections that the Congress party is “anti-Hindu” which was displayed in Mr Siddaramaiah’s attitude towards religion.Mr. Vishwanath recalled the establishment of the Mysuru Agenda Task Force (MATF) during the tenure of former Chief Minister S.M. Krishna and urged Mr. Shivakumar to free Mysuru from the grip of “land mafia”, which enjoys the support of the police, revenue and urban local bodies. He further called upon Mr. Shivakumar to promote tourism in Mysuru by giving a push to Mysuru Reshme and Mysuru Mallige. Economic activities need to be given a boost in Mysuru, he said, while emphasising the need to change the city from a pensioner’s paradise to a “youngsters’ paradise” with reference to the availability of opportunities in the city. Published - June 04, 2026 07:19 pm IST
