Formally inducting Shettar into the Congress, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said, “Rahul Gandhi has requested that we should win 135+ seats and come to power.” With Shettar joining the Congress, we are confident that we will get 150 seats. There is no doubt that he will not be elected, he will be elected.”
Shettar, a six-time MLA from the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency, was among the few leaders who were asked by the BJP not to seek tickets for the coming assembly polls. The party is yet to announce a candidate for the seat for which Shettar is the sitting MLA.
The veteran leader’s move to quit the party and join the Congress has certainly sent shivers down the spine of the BJP. The leaders belong to the Lingayat community, which accounts for close to 17-18 per cent of Karnataka’s voting population and also plays a major role in the formation of governments in the state.
A day before joining the Congress, Shettar was part of a marathon meeting with Congress veterans Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and others to chalk out a strategy. Grand Old Party wanted to keep the senior leader with them Rahul Gandhi To send a message to Karnataka that he has not only succeeded in hunting down a Lingayat leader but also a former chief minister.
Karnataka is heading towards a crucial phase just before it goes to vote on May 10 and the exit of Lingayat leaders, two prominent BJP players Shettar and Laxman Savadi, will certainly impact the party’s fortunes.
A BJP source said Shettar was even offered the post of governor to make up for the electoral loss, but the leader declined the offer.
“He is a senior leader and an influential Lingayat leader cannot be discounted. It was a rebellion the BJP did not expect as Shettar is generally known to be low-key and non-aggressive on issues. Political analyst Sandeep Shastri said, taking such a decision from a person of that stature and temperament, seen as one of the loyal and disciplined cadres in the party, is a blow to the leadership.
Shastri said the developments reflected the sense of alienation felt by leaders in the BJP about the way decisions were being made. He also said that the BJP did not anticipate that a former Chief Minister (Shettar) and a former Deputy Chief Minister (Savadi) would take this route.
“It is certainly a blow and I am not sure the BJP has anything up its sleeve to use at the right time to offset any possible impact,” he said.
Shettar had set a deadline which he extended till April 16 to see whether the party high command would accept his ticket demand. However, till Sunday morning it was clear that the top leadership of BJP has made up its mind not to field him from the North Karnataka seat. Shettar then submitted his resignation to Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri at Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district.
BS Yediyurappa, who has been trying to pacify those who were denied tickets, went berserk after Shettar announced his decision to quit the BJP. Invoking Shettar, Yediyurappa said it was the BJP that allowed him to become the chief minister.
Shettar, considered a BSY loyalist, had replaced Sadananda Gowda in 2012. Gowda was forced to resign after serving for 11 months as Yediyurappa started a rebellion and persuaded the BJP leadership to change Karnataka’s top leadership and bring in a fellow Lingayat in the saddle. ,
Yediyurappa said people know Shettar only because of the BJP. “The people of Karnataka will not forgive Jagadish Shettar. Shettar was offered a cabinet berth by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Yediyurappa said, we had offered ticket to a member of Shettar’s family, but he did not respond.
However, BSY, a member of the parliamentary board, still gave Shettar a small window of opportunity by saying that the party would accept him if he planned to return.
Hurt by the attack directed at BSY, Shettar said Yediyurappa had put forward his case to get him a ticket, but “certain leaders” have now forced BSY to speak against him.
Shettar is the second senior Lingayat leader after former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi to quit the BJP and join the Congress. The Congress has fielded Savadi from the Athani constituency, a seat of their choice that was rejected by the saffron party.
Questioning the grounds on which he was denied ticket, Shettar said, “I have not been involved in any scam or scams. There is no corruption or criminal allegation against me. I neither demanded any important post like Chief Minister or any particular ministry. Then why was I not given a ticket?”
A BJP functionary, who did not wish to be identified, said Shettar’s exit would cause “irreparable damage” and admitted that the party could have handled the episode better.
read all latest politics news Here