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Jagadish Shettar, an utterly disappointed former chief minister, finally joined the Congress on Monday after quitting the BJP and warned the saffron party that his resignation and future decisions will impact at least 20-25 seats in the state. Even Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai accepted that Shettar’s exit will have an effect “but damage control exercise will be conducted to minimise the impact”, he said.
Formally inducting Shettar into the Congress, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said: “Rahul Gandhi has requested that we must win 135+ seats and come to power. With Shettar joining Congress, we are confident that we will get 150 seats. There’s no question that he’ll not be elected, he will be elected.”
Shettar, a six-time MLA from the Huballi-Dharwad central constituency, was among the few leaders whom the BJP had asked to stand down and not seek a ticket for the upcoming assembly elections. The party is yet to declare a candidate for the seat for which Shettar is the incumbent MLA.
The veteran leader’s move to quit the party and join the Congress has certainly shaken the BJP to its core. The leader belongs to the Lingayat community which forms close to 17-18 per cent of Karnataka’s voting population and also has a major say in the formation of governments in the state.
A day ahead of joining the Congress, Shettar was part of a marathon meeting with Congress veterans Siddaramaiah, DK Shivakumar and others to chalk out a strategy. The Grand Old Party was keen to have the senior leader on board with Rahul Gandhi in Karnataka to send across the message that not only had it managed to poach a Lingayat leader but also a former chief minister.
Karnataka heads towards a crucial phase just before people go to vote on May 10 and the exit of two major BJP players Shettar and Laxman Savadi, both Lingayat leaders, will certainly have an impact on the party’s fortunes.
A source in the BJP said Shettar was also offered the post of Governor to compensate for the electoral loss but the leader declined the offer.
“He is a senior leader and an influential Lingayat leader cannot be discounted. This was a rebellion that the BJP did not anticipate because Shettar is generally known to be somebody low-key and one who does not take an aggressive position on issues. Seen as a loyalist in the party and from the disciplined cadres, a person of that stature and nature making such a decision is a setback to the leadership,” said political analyst Sandeep Shastri.
Shastri said the developments reflected the sense of alienation felt by leaders in the BJP about the way decisions are being made. He also pointed out that the BJP did not anticipate that a former CM (Shettar) and a former deputy CM (Savadi) would take this route.
“It is definitely a setback and I am not sure if the BJP has any ace up its sleeve to use at the right time to offset any possible impact,” he added.
Shettar had set a deadline which he extended up to April 16 to see if the party’s high command would accept his demand for a ticket. However, by Sunday morning, it was clear that the BJP’s top leadership had made up its mind on not fielding him from the North Karnataka seat. Shettar then submitted his resignation to Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri, the Karnataka Assembly Speaker, at Sirsi in Uttara Kannada district.
BS Yediyurappa, who has been trying the assuage those who have been denied tickets, turned livid after Shettar announced his decision to quit the BJP. Calling out Shettar, Yediyurappa pointed out that it was the BJP that allowed him to become a chief minister.
Known to have been a BSY loyalist, Shettar succeeded Sadanand Gowda in 2012. Gowda was forced to resign after having served for 11 months as Yediyurappa launched a rebellion and convinced the BJP leadership to change the Karnataka top brass and bring a fellow Lingayat in the saddle.
Yediyurappa pointed out that the people knew Shettar only because of the BJP. “The people of Karnataka will not forgive Jagadish Shettar. Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan had offered Shettar a ministerial position in the cabinet. We had offered a ticket to a member of Shettar’s family but he did not respond to it,” said Yediyurappa.
Parliamentary board member BSY, however, has still given Shettar a small window of opportunity by stating that the party will accept him if he plans to return.
Hurt by the salvo directed at him by BSY, Shettar said Yediyurappa had pushed his case to get him a ticket but a “few leaders” have now forced BSY to speak against him.
Shettar is the second senior Lingayat leader after former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi who quit the BJP and joined the Congress. The Congress has fielded Savadi from the Athani constituency, the seat of his choice which the saffron party denied him.
Questioning the grounds on which he has been denied a ticket, Shettar said: “I have not been involved in any scam or scandals. I have no corruption or criminal charges against me. I neither demanded any important post like that of a CM or a specific ministry. Then why was I denied a ticket?”
A BJP functionary who did not wish to be identified said Shettar’s exit would cause an “irreparable loss” and admitted that the party could have handled the episode better.
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