B. L. Santhosh
National General Secretary (Organisation) of the Bharatiya Janata Party
Assumed office
15 July 2019 (2019-07-15)
Preceded byRam Lal
National Joint General Secretary (Organisation) of the Bharatiya Janata Party
In office
2014–2019
State General Secretary (Organisation) of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Karnataka
In office
2006 (2006)–2014 (2014)
Personal details
Born (1967-02-01) 1 February 1967 (age 56)
Hiriadka, Mysore State (present-day Karnataka), India
Political partyBhartiya Janata Party
EducationBachelor of Engineering

Bommarabettu Laxmijanardhana Santhosh is an Indian politician currently serving National General Secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party from 15 July 2019.[1][2][3][4]

Santhosh worked as BJP's General Secretary (Organisation) for eight years in the Karnataka state unit and was appointed national joint general secretary in-charge of southern states in 2014 by Amit Shah.[5][6][7][8][9]

Early life

Santhosh hails from Bommarabettu Grama Panchayat, Udupi District in Karnataka and belongs to the Shivalli Brahmin community.[10][11][12] He studied Instrumentation Technology in BDT College of Engineering in Davanagere, Karnataka.[13]

Career

Santosh started as a RSS Pracharak (full-time worker) in 1993. He had stints in Mysuru, Shivamogga and later in Bangalore. He returned to Shivamogga in the early 2000s.[14] In 2006 he moved to BJP as the General Secretary (Organization) for Karnataka. He remained in the post till 2014. This also saw the BJP in power between 2008 and 2013.

In 2014, Santosh was made the Joint General Secretary (Organization) of BJP. In 2019 he was elevated to the post General Secretary (Organization) of BJP. He is someone who is attributed to have spotted and groomed youth leaders such as Pratap Simha and Tejasvi Surya in Karnataka.[5]

Detractors say Santosh wields a lot of control in Karnataka BJP and within the BJP high command at the center. People quote the fact that 2 unknown faces, Ashok Gasti and Eranna Kadadi, were made members of Rajya Sabha by the BJP in June 2020 much against the wishes of the Chief Minister.[15]

Controversy

Santosh in January 2020 reported that Valmikis, Bhovis, Waddars, and other Dalit societies are migrants, not native communities. J. N. Ganesh criticized him and said his assertion was incorrect. The Federation of Progressive Organizations organized a protest, demanding that he be charged under the SC/ST Act.[16]

References

  1. ^ Neelam Pandey (2 March 2020). "Conspiracies, threats and deleted posts – BJP leader BL Santhosh's angry Twitter world". The Print. Retrieved 1 May 2020. Meet B.L. Santhosh, the most high-profile BJP general secretary (organisation) ever, a party post virtually reserved for an RSS pracharak who commands enormous influence as he is the link between the party and its ideological patron (RSS).
  2. ^ "K'taka's BL Santhosh elevated to BJP General Secretary, party's 2nd most powerful role". The News Minute. 15 July 2019. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  3. ^ Gyan Varma (15 July 2019). "Meet BL Santhosh, newly appointed general secretary of BJP". live mint. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
  4. ^ Deepa Balakrishnan (16 July 2019). "Why BJP Promotion For RSS Loyalist BL Santhosh Should Have Yeddyurappa Looking Over His Shoulder". News 18. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  5. ^ a b BHAVNA VIJ-AURORA (15 July 2019). "With B L Santhosh As Party General Secretary, BJP Aims To Conquer Southern States". Outlook. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  6. ^ "Is BL Santhosh The new 'Modi' of Karnataka?". Deccan Chronicle. 1 September 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  7. ^ "How BL Santhosh is redefining role of RSS pointsman in BJP under Amit Shah". Rohini Swamy. ThePrint. 9 January 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  8. ^ ManuAiyappa Kanathanda (3 May 2017). "Why BL Santhosh can't be the Yogi Adityanath of Karnataka". The Times of India. Bangaluru. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  9. ^ Bhaskar Hegde (27 January 2017). "BL Santhosh behind the rebellion in Karnataka BJP?". Deccan Chronicle. Bangaluru. Retrieved 10 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Who Is B.L. Santosh and Why Is He Facing Ex-BJP CM Jagadish Shettar's Ire?". The Wire. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  11. ^ "I don't wish to be a competitor, says B L Santhosh after Shettar's allegations". Deccan Herald. 22 April 2023. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  12. ^ "Shettar's nemesis, backroom operative: BL Santhosh, BJP's 'hatchet man' in Karnataka". India Today. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  13. ^ "ALL ABOUT BL SANTOSH: NUMBER, EMAIL, BIODATA HINDI".
  14. ^ Mallikarjunan, Prabhu (16 June 2020). "BL Santhosh: BJP's silent elephant in Karnataka's political war room". Archived from the original on 30 August 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  15. ^ Dwarakanath, Nagarjun (9 June 2020). "Karnataka: BL Santosh picks grassroots BJP workers as Rajya Sabha candidates". Archived from the original on 9 June 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2020.
  16. ^ "Action against B L Santosh sought for 'Dalit migrant' remark". Deccan Herald. 30 January 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
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