Shushratha Gowda, a doctor from Mysuru, who was among the aspirants for Congress tickets to contest the Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency, has joined the BJP.
Dr. Gowda, who had also participated in the Bharat Jodo padayatra by walking alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi in 2022, was appointed as the General Secretary of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) earlier this month after the party opted to field KPCC spokesperson M. Lakshmana from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency.
However, Dr. Sushrutha Gowda joined the BJP at the party office in Malleshwaram in Bengaluru on Wednesday in the presence of BJP leader in charge of Karnataka Radha Mohan Agarwal.
Dr. Gowda, who visited the BJP office in Mysuru on Wednesday evening, told reporters that he was joining the BJP as an ordinary party worker and did not feel any liking or hatred towards the Congress party. “I only want an educated, non-corrupt, and visionary to be elected as an MP from Mysuru Lok Sabha constituency. So, I am extending my full support to BJP candidate Yaduveer in the ensuing Lok Sabha elections,” he said.
Dr. Shushrutha Gowda also said he was joining the BJP accepting the ideology of the party and the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and the party’s national president J.P. Nadda. BJP’s Mysuru city president Nagendra welcomed Dr. Sushrutha at the party office in Mysuru.
Meanwhile, KPCC spokesperson H.A. Venkatesh said Mr. Gowda’s entry into the BJP will not affect ensuing elections to the Lok Sabha from Mysuru and expressed confidence that the Congress party will win the elections.
He said Dr. Gowda, who aspired for a party ticket to contest the Lok Sabha elections from Mysuru, had failed to identify himself with any contribution to the party’s organisational work in Mysuru.
He said Mr. Lakshmana, who was picked by the party as its candidate for the constituency, is a loyal party worker, who has been highlighting various problems faced by the people in the State.
