A day after he quit the BJP for denying him ticket to the Karnataka Assembly elections, former state chief minister Jagadish Shettar will likely join the Congress on Monday. This comes as Shettar met with senion Congress leaders on Sunday regarding his next move.
The six-time Hubballi-Dharwad Central MLA resigned from the Assembly on Sunday after his talks with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday failed.
Shettar, who lashed out against the party, claimed a conspiracy against him. The former chief minister said he was unaware as to why he was denied a ticket but vowed to contest the elections.
Shortly after that, Shettar flew from Hubballi to Bengaluru in a special helicopter to meet Congress general secretary (Karnataka in-charge) Randeep Singh Surjewala, Congress state chief D K Shivakumar, former minister M B Patil and veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa, reported PTI.
The Congress had already welcomed Shettar to the fold, stating they had reserved a seat for him.
Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Sunday said that Jagadish Shettar was humiliated and BJP has crumbled like a house of cards.
Surjewala took to Twitter and said, "Humiliate, Insult, Throw away! This is how Modi-Bommai disgrace…. A Former Chief Minister, A Leader of Opposition, A six times BJP MLA, A Senior Most BJP Lingayat Leader! BJP’s CHAL, CHEHRA & CHARITRA! BJP has crumbled like a House of Cards," he said.
Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai expressed dissapointment at Shettar quitting the party, adding that BJP chief Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah had promised Shettar a big post in Delhi. "Jagadish Shettar has been a senior and an important leader in this region. JP Nadda and Union Home Minister had promised a big post in Delhi to Shettar. Everything would have been fine if the former CM had continued," Basavaraj Bommai told media in Hubballi.
Senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa too hit out against Shettar and Laxman Savadi, who joined Congress last week, for ditching the party. Calling out the "betrayal", the Lingayat leader said: "What injustice have we done to Shettar? People know about Shettar only because of the BJP. I want to ask Shettar why he is joining Congress," Yediyurappa said.
