By P.T. Bopanna
Former additional advocate-general A.S. Ponnanna (in picture), who was recently appointed chairman of the state Congress legal, human rights and RTI departments, has been tasked by the Congress leadership to strengthen the party in Kodagu (Coorg).
Ajjikuttira Ponnanna is the son of the late A.K. Subbaiah, a firebrand politician and MLC.
Of late, senior advocate Ponnanna has been taking active interest in the politics of his native district of Kodagu, triggering speculation that he was planning to contest the next Assembly elections from Virajpet constituency.
In a chat with this reporter, Ponnanna said: “It is too early to discuss about the next elections. I have been asked by the state Congress leadership to strengthen the party in Kodagu.”
Ponnanna was in the media glare recently when he distributed relief kits in Kodagu to people affected by the pandemic through the Ajjikuttira K. Subbaiah-Ponnamma Trust, a trust set up in memory of his parents.
He said at present he was spending his week-ends in Kodagu as he was preoccupied with his professional duties in Bengaluru.
Asked what was prospect of the Congress in Kodagu which is now a BJP bastion, he replied: “I am confident Congress will win both the Madikeri and Virajpet seats in the next Assembly elections.”
When asked to elaborate on his high expectations, he said the anti-incumbency factor will work against the sitting BJP MLAs. Moreover, he added the BJP government in Karnataka was fast losing ground because of its inability to handle the pandemic.
The entry of Ponnanna will be a shot in the arm for the Congress, which has almost been wiped out in Kodagu.
