(Photo Credit: PTI)
Bengaluru: Jagadish Shettar, former chief minister of Karnataka and a well-known Lingayat politician, joined the Congress party on Monday morning in Bengaluru.
He joined the Congress today at the Bengaluru party office in the presence of the party president Mallikarjun Kharge, the KPCC president DK Shivakumar, and Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Siddaramaiah.
After being refused a ticket to run in the elections, Shettar received an invitation to join the Congress on Sunday. Following his meeting with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, the six-term MLA announced his resignation from the BJP. Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan were unable to stop him.
Meanwhile, Jagadish Shettar has attacked the BJP, alleging that it has mistreated and humiliated him. He said, The BJP leaders insulted and mistreated me. It is upsetting that a few state leaders are misusing the BJP system, he stated.
The AICC president, Mallikarjun Kharge, while addressing the media said: “Today, Congress is assured of winning 150 seats after Shettar joined the party as what Rahul Gandhi requested us at Kolar yesterday.”
Welcoming Shettar, Siddaramaiah, the former Karnataka CM and Leader of the Opposition (LoP), calls Jagadish Shettar, ‘a decent politician in Karnataka.
Since 1994, Mr. Shettar has won six elections from Karnataka. The BJP refused to give him a party ticket to run in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections on May 10. He would be running in elections for Congress for the first time.
However, the BJP criticized Shettar’s decision to quit the party. Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers, New and Renewable Energy Bhagwanth Khuba, said that former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s resignation from the BJP is a prime example of selfish and opportunistic politics. He has betrayed the party and the thousands of workers who selflessly serve it.
Read also: https://stmnnews.com/denied-bjp-ticket-former-deputy-cm-savadi-joins-congress/