Parameshwara Gangadharaiah, or G Parameshwara, is the president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee. He was a agricultural scientist when he joined the Congress at Rajiv Gandhi’s urging in 1989.
Parameshwara, 66, belongs to a prominent Dalit family that owns the Siddhartha group of educational institutions in Tumkur. He started off as the joint secretary of the Karnataka Congress Committee. From 1999 to 2004, he served as minister of state in the SM Krishna-lead Karnataka government.
In the current Siddaramaiah government, he was the home minister from 2015 till 2017, when he resigned to look after the Congress’ election campaign. He is contesting from the Koratagere seat for the third consecutive time. In 2013, he lost the seat to the Janata Dal(Secular). Winning the seat in these polls is critical to his chances of being considered a potential chief ministerial candidate.