Kumar

Bangalore, March 25: Politics has riven the Bangarappa family, with former minister Kumar Bangarappa who had recently followed his father into the BJP returning to the Congress, which has promptly fielded him against his younger brother.

Kumar, a film actor and twice MLA from Soraba, will again fight from the same constituency, but his opponent this time will be brother Madhu, who is being fielded by the BJP. Soraba falls within the Shimoga parliamentary constituency of their father S. Bangarappa, a former Karnataka chief minister.

Kumar had quit the Congress and resigned his municipal administration portfolio less than a month ago to follow his father like a “true and obedient son” into the BJP. Bangarappa senior has regularly played the prodigal son himself, quitting and rejoining the Congress often after unsuccessful stints in regional outfits.

The elder Bangarappa had his own reasons for joining the BJP, but his decision to hand the party nomination for Soraba to his younger son prompted a Return of the Prodigal Son-II with actor-politician Kumar playing the lead role.

The former chief minister sought to justify his decision, saying: “I was annoyed by Kumar’s behaviour. He sidelined me. Besides, he has not done any work or helped the poor. Hence, I decided to give the party ticket to my other son Madhu.”

Congress leaders, who watched the Bangarappa civil war with glee, have decided to withdraw their decision to expel Kumar for six years.

“He’s with us and we have decided that he will be our man in Soraba,” said a Congress leader who is now in Delhi as part of the panel to select candidates for next month’s polls.

Kumar spoke out against his father in Soraba, adding that he had found it “suffocating” within the “communal party”. Speaking about the BJP, he said: “It has destroyed our family and it is going to destroy the country also.”

Hours before he spoke, Bangarappa senior said here that problems in his family would be sorted out in due course.

Father and son have had a love-hate relationship of late. The elder Bangarappa managed to wean Kumar away from movies and into politics but moved out to a rented bungalow here six months ago.

Congress sources say Kumar was advised by relatives to make up with his father by quitting the S.M. Krishna ministry to join the BJP.