Pic courtesy: http://cnarayanaswamy.com

C Narayanaswamy is a seasoned politician whose political career has been truly built from grassroots up. He began as the vice-president of the Taluk Development Board, Devanahalli (1978-1983) in Bengaluru, had a distinguished tenure as the president of the Bangalore Rural Zilla Parishad (1987-1992), and then as an MP (1996-1998).

A leader from socialistic roots

C Narayanaswamy was born in 1948 in Channahalli village in Bangalore Rural District. His father late Shankarappa and mother late Pillamma were known in the region as model agriculturists. They supported Narayanaswamy in getting good education and inculcate moral values. Narayanaswamy  has a degree in Law from Bangalore University.

His wife Geetha is a graduate in Arts and takes care of family agriculture. Elder son Ravindra obtained his MBA from the USA and returned to India about five years ago. He works for an IT company. Younger son Venugopal is an engineer and works for an automobile company in Chennai. His political career started with undivided Janata Dal, and he chose to stay with Devegowda’s team JD(S) when the Janata Dal was split into JD(S) and JD(U).

He joined the INC on August 15, 2013, after resigning from the JD(S) to protest its joining hands with the BJP for the twin parliamentary by-elections in Bangalore Rural and Mandya constituencies. However, he is seen as a friend and follower of Siddaramaiah from the beginning, which also explains his joining INC when Siddaramaiah is at the helm of affairs.

Brief profile

Name: C Narayanaswamy

Party: INC

Education: B.A., (St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore), LL.B. (University Law College, Bangalore)

Profession: Lawyer, Agriculturist, Social Worker and Political Activist.
Age: 66
Assets:  Rs. 24,79,52,597

Contact Details:
Address: #75, Narayanappa Farm Layout, Geddalahalli, Bangalore – 94, Karnataka
Phone Number: 9448057766, 080 23412252
Email ID: cnswamy73@gmail.com

Awards:

• Recipient of the Prestigious Karnataka State ‘Sahakara Rathna Award’ for 2007.
• Recipient of Shri Ramakrishna Hegde Award for 2010-2011
• Recipient of 77th All India Kannada Sahitya Sammelan Award – 2011
• Recipient of Jaycees International’s Outstanding Young Person of the Year Award for Karnataka State.

Prominent positions held:

C Narayanaswamy has been actively involved in several committees, be it at the taluk level, party level or at the national level as an MP.

On parliament level

• 1996-98 Member of Parliament (Eleventh Lok Sabha – Bangalore North Constituency from Janata Party)
• Convener, Parliamentary Sub-Committee on Rural Employment and
• Poverty Alleviation in the Standing Committee on Urban and Rural Development
• Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Textiles
• Member, Committee on Empowerment of Women
• Member, Joint Parliamentary Committee on Broadcasting Bill
• Member, Consultative Committee, Ministry of Non-conventional Energy Sources
• Member, Computer Committee, Eleventh Lok Sabha
• Secretary, Parliamentarians’ Forum for Development of Co-operative Movement, New Delhi.

Party positions held

• 1977-95 General Secretary, Janata Party, Devanahalli Taluk,
• General-Secretary, Janata Party, Bangalore District
• 1995-97 General-Secretary, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• Chairman, Publicity Committee, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• Chairman, Policy and Programme Implementation Committee, J.D., Karnataka
• Chairman, Disciplinary Committee, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• 2000-05 Secretary-General, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• 2005-06 Senior Vice-President, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• 2006-08 Working President, Janata Dal, Karnataka
• 2008- Chairman, Political Affairs Committee, Janata Dal(Secular), Karnataka
• 2008- Member, National Executive Committee, All India Janata Dal(Secular)

General positions

• General-Secretary, University Law College Students’ Association, Bangalore, 1971-72;
• Convener, Social Service Committee, Bangalore University Students’ Council during 1971-72;
• Vice-President, Advocates’ Association, Devanahalli, 1981-86;
• President, Taluk Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Ltd., Devanahalli 1980-87 (Recipient of Best Managed Bank in the State Award);
• Director, Karnataka State Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Bank Ltd., 1986-97;
• Vice-President, Taluk Development Board, Devanahalli 1978-83;
• President, Zilla Parishad, Bangalore Rural District 1987-92; – received many state and national-level appreciations and awards for excellence in implementation of various programs.
• Chairman, Karnataka Food and Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd., 1985-86; effectively streamlined and expanded public distribution of essential commodities in the State.
• Member, Central Silk Board 1996-98;
• Member, Board of Governors, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan – 1996-98
• Member, Hindi Salahakar Samithi, Dept. of Non-conventional Energy Sources;
• Member, Regional Direct Taxes Advisory Committee, Bangalore: 1996-98
• Functioned as resource person on Panchayati Raj and Rural Development; attending seminars, workshops and training programmes organized by the Lal Bahadur Shastri Academy of Administration, Mussoorie; Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi; National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad; Administrative Training Institute and Sri Abdul Nazeer Sab State Institute for Rural Development, Mysore; Karnataka Panchayat Parishad, Bangalore, etc.
• Member of Indian Parliamentary Delegation to Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference on Women during 1997.
• Member of Indian Parliamentary Delegation to the United Nations Organization at New York, USA ; and spoke in the Plenary Session of the General Assembly of the UNO in November 1996.
• Member of Indian Local Government Delegation visiting Pakistan during April 2005 – had wide-ranging discussions with political leaders including National Government Ministers and Provincial Heads, elected representatives, senior bureaucrats and NGO representatives. Addressed many press meets in Pakistan.
• 1996- Life Member, Constitution Club, New Delhi
• 1990- Life Member, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi
• 1998-05 Member, Task Force on Panchayati Raj, Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, New Delhi
• 2000- Member, Governing Body, Institute of Social Sciences, New Delhi
• 2007- President, Silk Association of India, Bangalore
• 2006-09 Member, Central Advisory Committee, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, GOI
• 2009- Member, Governing Council, Centre for Policies and Practices, Bangalore
• 2011- Working President, Karnataka Panchayat Parishad, Bangalore
• Charter Member and President, Lions Club of Devanahalli;
• District Chairman, Lions International, Bangalore

His campaign is hinged on his vision for Bangalore, some of them include

• Infrastructure Development
• Tackling Water Problems
• Clean Bengaluru, Green Bengaluru
• Safety for Women

In an attempt to reach out to the electorate on the web, his Facebook page gives an update of his campaign in progress.

C Narayanaswamy is known for his vast knowledge about the Panchayat Raj Institutions and Panchayat Politics. He is a resource person and trainer on the topic.

Bangalore North saw the Primaries conducted by FAME, as an experiment in ensuring internal democracy in Indian National Congress. Three out of the four candidates for the primaries from Bangalore North were Vokkaligas. Narayana Swamy defeated Rajeev Gowda and others in the primaries.

Later in an interview, Narayanaswamy said he is a driver of change and not someone representing one particular community.

At a function, the former MP asked intellectuals and social thinkers to be part of the political system in a bid to reform the system. He alleged that the political system had degraded so much that it had not only become corrupt, but also made society and voters corrupt. He added that education was a must for politicians if the political system had to be reformed. He said many political leaders considered themselves as “know-alls” and were least interested in attending any training programmes organised for them.

Controversy count

Narayanaswamy’s name was dragged into a controversy by BJP members when they accused him of getting the benefits of Bagar Hukum scheme by getting two acres of land in Devanahalli allotted to his wife. However, the charge was refuted by Narayanaswamy in a press conference, where he clarified that the woman mentioned by BJP members was not his wife at all, and cautioned them to be careful before dragging names into controversy.

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