Young blood to boost Congress image

BANGALORE: Their fathers once governed the state as Congress chief ministers. Now, the next generation has come together to strengthen the party by enthusing the youth to sign up.
Kumar Bangarappa (son of S Bangarappa), Dinesh Gundu Rao (son of R Gundu Rao), Kailasnath Patil (son of Veerendra Patil), Mamatha Nichani (daughter of Ramakrishna Hegde), Mahima Patel (JH Patel's son) and Ajai Singh (N Dharam Singh's son) held a meeting at the KPCC office on Tuesday. Of the six, Dinesh is MLA from Gandhinagar in Bangalore and president of the Bangalore Urban District Congress Committee. Kumar Bangarappa is a former minister, while Mamatha lost to HD Kumaraswamy in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls.
Mahima Patel told TOI it was KPCC president G Parameshwara's idea to bring them together. "We plan to have a different dialogue with the youth from this platform. We want to bring in youth and involve them in strategizing for the party, preparing the poll manifesto and other responsibilities,'' he added.
After the meeting, Kailasnath Patil told reporters: "As the assembly polls are fast approaching, we decided to involve ourselves more actively in organizing the party. Our focus is to attract more youth into the party. Being the children of former CMs, we have a strong background and thought of using it for the good of the party.''