Karnataka deputy CM G Parameshwara has said that his party has not yet decided to back Janata Dal (Secular) leader HD Kumaraswamy for full five years as chief minister. He was speaking to the media at his press conference after taking over as the Deputy CM.
His statement is being seen as the fault-lines between the coalition partners. JDS and Congress forged a post-poll alliance to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka.
The Dalit face of Congress party in Karnataka, Parameshwara, a former home minister in Siddaramaiah government from 2015 to 2017, is heading the state unit of the party since 2010.
Born into a well-to-do family, articulate and suave Parameshwara had been an educationist before joining politics.
He did his BSc and MSc in Agriculture from University of Agriculture Sciences in Bengaluru. He obtained a PhD in plant physiology from the University of Adelaide and joined as the administrative officer of the Sri Siddhartha Institute of Technology, a group of institutions run by his family.
He met former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1989, which changed his fortunes and he joined the Congress.