Senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad was on Wednesday appointed by the party as its leader in the Legislative Council, paving the way for him to be appointed as Leader of the Opposition in the House. K. Govindraju has been appointed Deputy Leader of the party in the Council.
The appointment by the AICC came following the retirement of S.R. Patil as Leader of the Opposition in Legislative Council on January 5. Former cricketer Prakash Rathod has been appointed Chief Whip in place of M. Narayanswamy, who also retired on January 5.
A four-term Rajya Sabha member, Mr. Hariprasad was tipped to be appointed to the post, even as there were other party members vying for it. That Mr. Patil 's tenure would end became clear after he was denied ticket to contest from Bagalkot-Bijapur local authorities constituency. Mr. Hariprasad is set to retire from the House on June 30, 2026.
