Ramalinga Reddy is an Indian politician known for being the president of the Karnataka Indian National Congress since February 2001.
Wiki/Biography
Ramalinga Reddy was born on Friday, 12 June 1953 (age 70 years; as of 2023) in Anekal, Karnataka. His zodiac sign is Gemini. He did his schooling at the government school at Hombegowdanagar in Bangalore. He pursued a bachelor’s degree in science at Government Science College, Bangalore University. He also pursued LLB at University Law College, Bangalore. When he was in college, the university elections were big events at that time. He received a lot of support from his party which even got pamphlets made for him. The parties used to encourage the young leaders and at that time, the public was also very active. He was inspired by people like Indira Gandhi and Sri Devaraj Urs of the Congress party which was very strong. He got inspired by Indira Gandhi’s 20-point programme and other activities. According to him, he also got inspiration from the poverty eradication programmes.
Physical Appearance
Height (approx.): 5′ 5″
Hair Colour: Salt and Pepper
Eye Colour: Black
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father’s name is B. Venkatareddy, who was a corporator. His mother’s name is Pillamma.
Wife & Children
Ramalinga is married and has a son, Sreraj Reddy and a daughter, Sowmya Reddy, who is the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress of Karnataka.
Religion
He follows Hinduism.
Address
He resided at No.455/7, 1591 Cross, Lakkasandra Layout, Bengaluru – 560 030.
Signature
Ramalinga Reddy’s signature
Political Career
He started his political career in 1973 when he became the secretary of the students union at Government Science College, Bangalore. He was also a member of the student council at Bangalore University. When he was in college, he used to participate in a lot of organizational activities. In 1973, when he joined NSUI, he attended NSUI National Convention in Trivandrum, Kerala. In 1977, he became the student union president at Bangalore University. In 1980, he became a member of the Senate and finance committee at Bangalore University. From 1983 to 1988, he was a corporator of the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike. In 1985, he became the president of the Jayanagar Block Congress Committee. In 1989, he was elected as a Member Legislative Assembly from the Jayanagar constituency. In 1990, he became a member of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee and worked there till 2018. In 1992, he became the Karnataka Minister of Finance, Major and Medium Scale Industries and APMC. In 1993, he was elected as the Chairman of the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee. In 1994, he was elected as the MLA from Jayanagar Constituency. From 1998 to 2008, he was the president of the Bangalore City District Congress Committee. In 1999, he was re-elected as the MLA from Jayanagar Constituency. In 2001, he became a member of the All India Congress Committee. In 2002, he became the minister of Food and Civil Supplies of Karnataka. In 2004, he became the minister of Primary and Secondary Education and Sakala of Karnataka. In 2008, he was re-elected as the MLA from BTM Constituency. On 18 May 2013, he became the Minister of Transport of Karnataka. In 2013, he became the chairman of the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation, North Western Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation. On 2 September 2017, he became the minister of Home Affairs of Karnataka. In 2018, he won the Karnataka Assembly Elections from the BTM constituency for the seventh time. In 2021, he became the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Working President.
Assets/Properties
Movable Assets
- Bank Deposits: Rs. 4,58,69,372
- Motor Vehicles: Rs. 21,26,520
Immovable Assets
- Commercial Buildings: Rs. 57,99,76,423
- Residential Buildings: Rs. 3,28,52,000
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2023. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor).
Net Worth
Rs. 72 Crore
Note: The given estimates of movable and immovable assets are according to the year 2023. It excludes the assets owned by his wife and dependents (minor).
Facts/Trivia
- In the 1994 state elections, he was the only Congress candidate who won from Bengaluru.
- He has worked on social causes like improvement in the maintenance and infrastructure in all parks through active participation in residents’ welfare association, ensuring proper street lighting on low-light roads for the safety and security of women and children, clearing the arterial roads, radial roads and junctions including Silk Board Junction, St. Johns Junction and Hosur Road Junction, improving government schools facilities including quality of classrooms, sporting facilities, labs, and upgradation of BWSSB lines to ensure proper and sufficient supply of water to all.
- In an interview, he talked about how important education was in politics and said,
A certain handling capacity is important in politics. More than education, there should be an initiative and interest. One must know how to handle officers and how to mobilize funds. One must have the knack required to bring funds out of programs as well. Sometimes double graduates are total failures in politics and others who are not educated at all do well. One should be able to give anything certain amounts of time and work on it until the job is done. Education might help, but there are these things as well is what I am telling you.”
- In 2005, he worked on He the JNNURM Scheme under which eight hundred houses were sanctioned for construction. He built houses in Rajendra Nagar, Koramangala, Chandrappa Nagara and S R Nagar for Rs. 2 Lakh per house.
- In an interview, he said that he faced a lot of problems as an MLA but the main one was a lack of funds and knowing how to use funds from out-of-programs to solve issues.
- In 2019, after submitting his resignation from the party along with 9 other MLAs, he withdrew it after one day. After the withdrawal, he decided to vote in favour of the Congress-JD(S) coalition government in the state Assembly. In an interview, he revealed that he sent the resignation because of the internal problems of the party and not because he had problems with the state government.
- In May 2023, Ramalinga and Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar accused the election commission officials of manipulating the results against Sowmya Reddy after the Bharatiya Janata Party candidate CK Ramamurthy was declared the winner in Bengaluru’s Jayanagar constituency by 16 votes. They protested against the electoral body’s order.
