Bengaluru: If not a cabinet berth, why not a Lok Sabha seat at least? And maybe bequeath your legislative seat to your son. That seems to be the reasoning behind former minister Roshan Baig's statement on Wednesday that if the Congress party is willing, he will contest the Lok Sabha elections from Bengaluru Central constituency.
Mr Baig confirmed this to Deccan Chronicle saying veteran Muslim leader C.K. Jaffer Sharief, who passed away recently, had blessed him and told him to take over his mantle and shift to Central politics. "It was his wish that I should go to Parliament because he constantly told me that senior and experienced leaders like me should be in the Lok Sabha. Like Mr Sharief, many Muslim community leaders and even non-Muslim leaders feel I am an acceptable face in society because of my secular credentials. Therefore they want me to contest the Lok Sabha election," he said.
Mr Baig also revealed that he made no effort to lobby for a cabinet berth this time. "After the coalition government was formed, I was not considered for induction into the cabinet. Then I decided I should move to national politics if the high command agrees to it," he said.
Asked whether he had already discussed this matter with central leaders, Mr Baig replied in the affirmative and said he had expressed this desire to many central leaders including AICC general secretary, K.C. Venugopal.
If and when Mr Baig moves to national politics, he wants to bring in his son R. Rehan Baig and make him contest from the Shivajinagar seat which he currently represents. “My son has been in touch with people, attending to their problems in my absence for quite a long time. He knows the constituency fairly well," Mr Baig said. The BJP is likely to field incumbent MP P.C. Mohan again from Bengaluru Central. If the contest happens between Mr Mohan and Mr Baig, it will be an interesting one considering the high Muslim and Christian votes in the constituency.
