In a big setback to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ahead of the next month’s Assembly elections in Karnataka, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Monday joined the Congress.
Shettar quit the BJP and resigned as MLA on Sunday, after being denied a ticket by the saffron party to contest the polls.
He was associated with BJP for the last three decades.
He joined the party in the presence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, general secretaries K C Venugopal and Randeep Singh Surjewala (Karnataka in-charge), KPCC president D K Shivakumar and Legislature Party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, among others.
The six-time MLA was seeking party’s ticket from his current seat – Hubballi-Dharwad Central – but his demand was turned down.
Also read: BJP denies ticket to many sitting MLAs for Karnataka polls
He submitted his resignation to the Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri at Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district on Sunday.
AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge while inducting Shettar into the party said the senior leader joining the party would definitely boost the prospects of Congress in the upcoming Assembly elections.
The Assembly election in Karnataka is slated on May 10 next.
Also read: Karnataka set for next assembly election on May 10
Shettar reiterated that he was pained for the last six months on various developments within the BJP. The disgruntled leader said that he only wanted ticket for Hubali-Dharwad-Central seat, and asserted that he had contributed to the ‘growth of the party’ in the state.