In another major blow to BJP in upcoming Karnataka Election senior BJP leader Ex CM Jagadish Shettar resigns from MLA seat and joins Congress.
He became part of Congress in front of Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s national leader, and KPCC president DK Shivakumar.
Ex-Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar Joins Congress
Former chief minister Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress party on Monday, dealing a severe blow to the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections scheduled for next month. Following his denial of a nomination by the saffron party to run for office, Shettar resigned from the BJP and his position as MLA on Sunday.
The six-term MLA requested the party’s nomination for his current seat, Hubballi-Dharwad Central, but his request was denied. He submitted his letter of resignation to legislature Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri in Sirsi, in the Uttara Kannada district, on Sunday.
On Monday morning in Bengaluru, Jagadish Shettar, a former chief minister and well-known Lingayat leader in Karnataka, joined the Congress party. Mallikarjun Kharge, the party’s national president, and DK Shivakumar, the president of the KPCC, were present when he joined Congress.
On Sunday evening in Bengaluru, Shettar connected with Randeep Surjewala, Siddaramaiah, and DK Shivakumar to explain his stand on the matter. Additionally, he has a good chance of winning the Congress nomination for the Hubballi-Dharwad central constituency.
Jagadish Shettar, a six-term lawmaker, has also served as chief minister of Karnataka and as state president of the BJP. The BJP denied him a ticket to the assembly elections this time.
In the meantime, Jagadish Shettar has denounced the BJP and claimed that the party has treated him unfairly and degraded him. He claimed: “The BJP leaders treated me poorly and with contempt. It is detrimental that certain state officials abuse the BJP structure.
Bommai, the chief minister of Karnataka, suggested a possible effect of his leaving the party. It will have an effect because Jagadish Shettar is an influential figure in the party. We made an effort to appease him by giving his family members a ticket to the assembly and an important position in New Delhi. Shettar refused to accept our terms because he was determined about running for the assembly. His influence in the Hubballi-Dharwad region will be reduced by us.”
Aside from criticizing Jagadish Shettar, the former chief minister Yediyurappa expressed his displeasure with his choice. “Jagadish Shettar should provide opportunities for the next generation. I will personally run a campaign in his district if he runs for office in Congress, making sure he is defeated,” he said. The Lingayat community, he continued, “will always support the BJP.”
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