Bangalore, Mar 04: Sarekoppa Bangarappa, the former chief minister of Karnataka, who joined the BJP today, had a strong love and hate relationship with the Congress, and quit the party four times during his 37-year political career. Called a ''two per cent leader,'' Bangarappa could influence not only his community votes which form two per cent of the electorate, but also other backward classes and cause discomfiture to the Congress.
Though the Congress expelled 71-year-old Bangarappa for the second time and put up a brave face to say that the departure would not affect the party prospects in next month's two-phase elections in the state, he has a sizeable following of his community in districts such as Shimoga, Chikmagalur and Uttara Kannada that could upset the calculations of the ruling party.

In fact, Congress state president Janardhan Poojary has declared that Bangarappa would be a campaign point during the polls. ''How could the BJP, which termed Bangarappa as the 'most corrupt Congress chief minister' digest him,'' he wondered.
Bangarappa, who had been allegedly involved in the classic computer deal scandal, leading to a CBI investigation launched against him under the chief ministership of Veerappa Moily, was acquitted from the charge by a CBI court recently.
Lying low in view of the charge, Bangarappa had decided to quit the Congress as he accused the high command of marginalising him and failure to recognise his potential.
Congress sources said that not only did Bangarappa want to return to the state politics by contesting for assembly, he also wanted some of his own men accommodated in his home district of Shimoga, besides removing a few legislators of the dissolved House stating that they had failed to serve the district well.
Earlier, having received political baptism from veteran socialist leader Gopala Gowda in Shimoga, Bangarappa entered the state assembly in 1967.
He later split the socialist party and formed the Krantikari Samajwadi Paksha and joined the Congress in 1977.
Bureau Report