Jagdish Shettar, a BJP defector who left the saffron party on Sunday, has been handed a ticket by the Congress to run in the forthcoming elections in Karnataka from his home district of Hubbali-Dharwad. Shettar left his decades-long links with the BJP, accusing them of humiliating him by refusing him a ticket for the election. He then joined the Congress, running for office from his home district, which has become a crucial battlefield for the elections slated for May 10.
Shettar, a six-time MLA and the former chief minister of Karnataka, was not included on the BJP’s list of 189 candidates. Angered, he went to the party’s central officials in Delhi and pleaded with JP Nadda, the BJP’s national president, to grant him an election ticket so he could represent his home district. When the BJP unveiled its second list of 23 candidates, Shettar’s name was once again omitted. Instead, the BJP ran Mahesh Tenginakai, the general secretary of the party, in Shettar’s home district on its third list.
Shettar eventually left the party after feeling “humiliated” and joined the Congress in front of party leaders including senior politician Siddaramaiah, state Congress chairman DK Shivakumar, and national president Mallikarjun Kharge at the party’s Bengaluru office.
A political dispute over Shettar’s departure from North Karnataka has arisen, with the Congress accusing the BJP of being a “anti-Lingyat” party.
In response to the Congress’ claim that the ruling party has insulted Lingayats by denying tickets to senior leaders from the community like him, the BJP’s senior leader Arun Singh said on Tuesday that the party’s cadres will teach former chief minister Jagadish Shettar a “lesson” by ensuring his defeat in the Karnataka elections for “betraying” the party.
The historic seat of Shettar, who is now running as a Congress candidate, Hubli-Dharwad Central, has been and will continue to be a “safe” seat for the governing party, according to Singh, the BJP general secretary in charge of the state.
“Shettar had been winning from the district because it was a BJP seat, not due to a mass base that he had never possessed. His betrayal of the party has angered BJP workers, who will work to guarantee his downfall. He’ll learn his lesson, Singh assured PTI.
He pointed out that the six-time MLA’s opponent, Mahesh Tenginkai of the BJP, is likewise a Lingayat and a member of the same subcaste as the former chief minister.
