Karnataka polls: The Malleswaram candidate is two ex-presidents' grandson
The grandson of former presidents Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and VV Giri is in the fray this time in the Karnataka polls. A first-timer in politics, Subramanyam Sharma Gouravaram is AIMEP's candidate from Malleswaram. Sharma says he wants to bridge the gap between the inequality between the rich and poor. Sharma's family owns Sudeeksha Group, which has diverse interests from pharmacy, infrastructure and movies to dairy-farming.
At 44, he quit business to join politics, serve society
At 44, Sharma quit business and chose politics as the path to serve society. "I originally come from a family of academicians, and not politicians," said Sharma, whose mother Sulochona is renowned philosopher-statesman Radhakrishnan's third daughter. But he refused to join any national party like BJP, Congress or JD(S), because "they've never really worked towards people's issues."
His focus: healthcare, education and employment
Sharma had done his initial schooling from Bengaluru after which he had shifted to Chennai, but returned to Bengaluru in 2006. The IIM-A and Harvard Law School graduate initially wanted to contest as an independent and had also prepared his manifesto. Keeping special focus on healthcare, education and employment, it spoke of installing solar panels for free electricity, upgradation of public health-centers, hospitals, etc.
His plan changed when he met Nowhera Shaik of AIMEP
His plan to be an independent contestant changed when he met Hyderabad-based businesswoman Nowhera Shaik, who founded All India Mahila Empowerment Party (AIMEP) in November'17. Sharma felt AIMEP works for common people and "believes in the same social balance I aim to achieve," he said. If elected, his wants to organize job fairs for youths where both private and public companies can participate.
But is AIMEP actually people-centric?
AIMEP had announced that it'd contest from all 224 constituencies and has fielded over 170 candidates. But the Hyderabad-based party has a myopic focus on the 14% Muslim votes in the state, and speculations are rife about an alliance with former CM HD Kumaraswamy's JD(S).
