Bengaluru, 21 June

Senior Congress leader BK Hariprasad formally assumed charge as Karnataka Congress President at a mega convention here on Sunday.

At the ceremony, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, who had served as Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president since 2020, formally handed over charge to Hariprasad by presenting him with the party flag.

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, AICC general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, ministers, legislators and party office-bearers attended the event.

The 71-year-old MLC was appointed Karnataka Congress president on 3 June, following Shivakumar's recent resignation as KPCC chief, a post he had continued to hold after becoming CM.

An OBC leader from the Billava community, Hariprasad, was re-elected to the Karnataka Legislative Council on Thursday.

He has previously served as a Member of the Rajya Sabha and as the AICC in-charge of Haryana and several other states.

The ruling party projected the event, held at Palace Grounds here, as the beginning of its campaign for a series of upcoming elections, including those for the five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), zilla and taluk panchayats, leading up to the 2028 Assembly elections.