Former Chief Minister of Karnataka Jagadish Shettar re-joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in New Delhi on January 25, about a year after quitting the saffron party and joining the Congress.
Mr. Shettar had switched to the Congress after being denied a ticket by the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections in May 2023.
On January 25, he arrived at the BJP headquarters in Delhi, accompanied by former Chief Minister and senior party leader B.S. Yediyurappa.
After re-joining the BJP, Mr. Shettar said he had met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in the morning. “I will quit my post as MLC (elected on a Congress ticket). I have already dispatched my resignation through email. I have also intimated KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar about resigning from the primary membership of the Congress.
“I decided to re-join the BJP to strengthen the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Under the leadership of Mr. Modi, the country witnessed a lot of development. We need to strengthen his hands so that he could became the PM for the third time,” Mr. Shettar told mediapersons in Delhi.
He said that BJP leaders and workers had been persuading him to return to the party. He thanked Congress for treating him well in the party during his short stint.
What CM said about Jagadish Shettar returning to BJP
When asked by reporters in Virajpet (Kodagu district) about this development, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said, “I don’t know if he (Mr. Shettar) has returned to the BJP. I am not aware of this development. Has he held a press conference (to announce his quitting the Congress and joining the BJP)?”
Intervening, Home Minister G. Parameshwara said the party will respond to the development later.
Mr. Siddaramaiah said, “Mr. Shettar quit the BJP citing disrespect to his leadership and for being denied the party ticket in the last Assembly elections. He joined the Congress. A ticket was given to him to contest the polls from Hubballi, but he lost the election. Nevertheless, the party made him an MLC. No injustice was done to Mr. Shettar in the Congress. He was treated respectfully in the Congress.”
Earlier in the day in Mysuru, before Mr Shettar returned to the BJP, Mr. Siddaramaiah had expressed confidence that the former CM will remain in the Congress.
