Why Nirmala Sitharaman is the unanimous choice of BJP for RS seat in Karnataka?

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is the top choice of the BJP’s Karnataka unit for a vacant Rajya Sabha seat next month. He has enjoyed a unanimous acceptance of being re-nominated for a second term, a feature that many may not claim.

In the past, whenever the BJP has fielded non-Kannada candidates for Rajya Sabha nominations, a section of party workers have quietly or vocally protested against the harsh lobbying for the local face. When M Venkaiah Naidu’s third term ended in 2016, there was a campaign by party men urging the party not to send him back to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. The party silently brought Naidu to Rajasthan and brought Sitharaman. Although he hails from Tamil Nadu, he has never encountered any problems, as evidenced by Karnataka’s relationship with Tamil Nadu centered around Kaberi.

Many times, his visits to the state did not attract media attention. He often visited different parts of the state, including Kodagu district, when flash floods hit the highlands in 2018.

In a chat with media in Udupi on Saturday, Union Junior Agriculture Minister Shobha Karandlaje called her a role model for the women of the country. “Being a Union Minister and managing various portfolios is not an easy task for a woman. He should continue to be a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, ”Korandalaje was quoted as saying. On Saturday, Sitharaman visited the temples of Udupi and Kallu.

According to Sameer Kagalkar, convener of the Karnataka BJP economic cell, Sitharaman’s power came to the fore and was particularly noticeable during the Kovid-19 epidemic. He worked under extreme pressure, yet focused on easy credit access to people instead of cash buckets. He also focused on unclogging supply-side issues, he said.

One of the reasons why no one sighed this time is that he comes from a different generation of BJP leaders who enjoy the confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Politically he has a low-profile, and whenever he visits Karnataka, his media interactions are almost always limited to governance-related issues. He rarely speaks of politics, although he can do so effortlessly as a national spokesperson for the party, says a BJP leader.

Then there is the feeling that it is a matter of pride for the state unit of the party that a member of its Rajya Sabha is the finance minister. He will always keep the interests of the state in mind when allocating budgets, he added.