Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has announced his resignation from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after being refused a ticket for the May 10 elections. The resignation comes days before the Karnataka Assembly Election. Shettar, who served as the state’s opposition leader while the Congress was in control, said he would also step down from the state legislature.
The former BJP veteran is reportedly planning to join Congress.
The 67-year-old leader said he will undoubtedly challenge the results, however.
“I’ve made the decision to leave the legislative assembly, “Shettar told reporters on Saturday, clearly agitated.
In order to present his resignation, he said, he has requested a meeting with Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri, who is now in Sirsi.
“I shall leave the gathering with a sorrowful heart. This party was created and nurtured by me. They (certain party officials) arranged for my resignation from the party, “said Shettar.
After his meeting with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan, the six-term Legislator quickly made the announcement. As he protested the BJP’s decision to not field him from the Hubli-Dharwad central seat, the three arrived to his residence on Saturday night.
Shettar recalled his service to the BJP and the important positions he held in the state, including assembly speaker, and added, “They (party officials) have not comprehended Jagadish Shettar yet, for the manner they humiliated me.” “I was angered by the way they neglected me, and it made me feel like I shouldn’t just remain silent; I needed to question them. Due to this, I had already declared that I would run for office “said he.
The Lingayat leader claimed that he had never been indurate but that the party had made him become one as part of a widespread plot against him.
Shettar said that in order to create room for young people, the party’s high leadership had advised him not to run in the assembly election. He did, however, declare that he would run for office no matter what.
Shettar said earlier in the day that in addition to the state, if he is not given a ticket, it would affect 20 to 25 assembly seats in north Karnataka.
This is the BJP’s second serious setback. Former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi left the party and joined the Congress only one day ago.
In 2019, Mahesh Kumathalli, a former member of the Congress who defected with 17 others to support the BJP in order to topple the H D Kumaraswamy-led coalition government of the Congress and the JD(S), outraged Savadi, who was hoping to run from the Athani seat.