RSS man B L Santhosh will lead Mangaluru Chalo

BENGALURU:

RSS man B L Santhosh

, who reportedly has set his eyes on the

Karnataka chief minister's post

, will be leading the

BJP's Mangaluru Chalo

on September 7.

This ambition of Santhosh, according to party insiders, stems from examples of hardcore RSS functionaries becoming chief ministers with Narendra Modi in Gujarat in early 2000, and now

Yogi Aditya Nath in Uttar Pradesh

and M L Khattar in Haryana, notwithstanding the fact that

Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa

has been named for the post.

At present, national joint secretary (organization) Santhosh is in charge of south India. He played a key role in the backroom operations in the 2008 assembly polls when the BJP came to power. The initiative of getting volunteers from various professions to take a sabbatical and work for the party, prior to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, is said to be his brainchild.

"An intelligent and meticulous person, he has an eye for detail. Even now in the Mangaluru Chalo rally (to demand Dakshina Kannada district in charge minister B Ramanath Rai's resignation for 'failing on law and order front'), Santhosh will be looking into details like fixing mechanics to accompany the rallyists,'' a political observer said.

A chemical engineering graduate and a native of Shivamogga, Santhosh, who is in early fifties, is said to be ruthless on those who are a potential threat to his political ambitions. The party asking Santhosh to monitor the rally has come at a time when he was looking for playing an active role in the run-up to the 2018 assembly polls. He is trying to fill the leadership vacuum as the performance of B P Arun

Kumar, state general secretary (organization), and N Ravi Kumar, who is in the state's unit core committee, is reportedly not up to the expectation, said a party functionary.

However, sources claim that Santhosh's dream may not be fulfilled in Karnataka politics, which is caste-driven. "The Lingayats will not vote for a Brahmin CM candidate. Ramakrishna Hegde became the CM as he was publicly supported by former CM S Nijalingappa, a Lingayat and R Gundu Rao was appointed by the Congress high command following the party split,'' they pointed out.

"With the BJP pulling all stops to make a comeback to power, the central leadership will be utilizing the skills of all those who can contribute to its objective. Equations will not matter as long as persons can deliver,'' sources said, referring to the cold war between Yeddyurappa and Santhosh. The former CM had accused Santhosh of engineering a rebellion against him with the help of senior leader K S Eshwarappa.