Pratap Simha, the BJP MP in middle of LS breach row who took ‘untrodden path’ to Parliament

The journalist, who became a parliamentarian in a span of 33 days in 2014 by riding on a BJP and pro-Modi wave, is however seen as merely a victim whose trust was betrayed by Manoranjan Devaraj, the 33-year-old from his constituency Mysuru who was among the two who jumped from the visitors’ gallery into the main hall of the Lower House of Parliament and released smoke canisters in a brazen protest. Devaraj who belongs to the Vokkaliga community had persistently lobbied for a Lok Sabha pass.

In the political tussle that has ensued since the breach, the Congress has alleged that Devaraj briefly worked in an IT department for the BJP MP. On December 14, Congress spokesperson M Laxman alleged that Devaraj was very close to the BJP leader and had met him at many places, including in Delhi. The Mysuru police have, however, indicated there is no evidence to suggest Devaraj worked for Simha at any given point of time. His father Devaraje Gowda has said the family was linked to Simha only as voters in the MP’s constituency.

With no serious grounding in politics apart from being a very popular newspaper columnist, Simha’s rise in politics has been a surprise. The second term that Simha won in 2019 is attributed to the Modi wave rather than “individual achievements”.

“Like for many others, Modiji for me signifies hope, he has specific ideas to develop our country and is neither rhetorical nor superficial in his vision. I am really honoured that the party has found me competent to work along with Narendra Modiji and has given me a chance to contest,” Simha said after the BJP fielded him in 2014.

While Simha is credited with introducing Modi to a large section of Kannada readers through his 2008 book, one of the first instances where he emerged from the realm of the printed word was in 2012 when he was cast as a target in an alleged terrorist plot. The Bengaluru police arrested two youths from Hubbali in north Karnataka on August 29, 2012, on charges of plotting to kill Simha. The youths were allegedly found in possession of guns and were linked to a larger plot targeting right-wing personalities in Karnataka.

Simha has been involved in many controversies on account of his stridently Hindutva stand. During his first term as MP in 2017, he was arrested for driving his vehicle into a police barricade amid prohibitory orders in Hunsur to restrict Hanuman Jayanti processions from marching in minority residential areas. He was also heard telling BJP Yuva Morcha workers at the time that the then BJP president Amit Shah would be assessing them based on teargas shells and lathi-charges at their protests. The police cases against Simha were dropped when the BJP returned to power in Karnataka in 2019.

Ahead of the 2019 parliamentary polls, Simha obtained a gag order from a Bengaluru court against the media to stop reporting an allegedly lurid conversation on an audio clip that emerged in the public domain. In his second term, Simha was at loggerheads with a few BJP MLAs from Mysuru. In one instance, he accused officials in Mysuru of building a bus stand with “gumbaz-like structures”. The charges brought him into conflict with then local BJP MLA S A Ramdas.

Simha also had a run-in with the former CM Basavaraj Bommai at a public event when the latter suggested that Simha was “oversmart”.

After the BJP lost the Karnataka Assembly polls earlier this year, the BJP MP suggested that one of the reasons for the loss was the reluctance of the governments led by B S Yediyurappa and Basavaraj Bommai to take action against corruption allegations against Opposition leaders.

Given Simha’s current inadvertent predicament in the Parliament security breach case and the bridges burnt with party leaders in Mysuru, he will be heavily dependent on the Modi factor to clinch a third term in the coming Lok Sabha elections.