The former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who quit the BJP just before the elections to join the Congress and lost in Hubballi-Dharwad Central, on Sunday left for Bengaluru to meet AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior Congress leaders.
Party sources say the Congress candidate who got defeated in the Assembly elections left his Hubballi residence following a phone call from the Congress high command.
Mr. Shettar had quit the BJP to join the Congress a few days before the elections. Even as the Congress Legislature Party meeting was scheduled in Bengaluru on Sunday evening, it is expected that Mr. Shettar would be given a responsible position in the party or in the incoming government.
BJP nominee Mahesh Tenginkai defeated Mr. Shettar by a margin of over 34,000 votes in Hubballi-Dharwad Central Constituency.
