With the addition of Jagdish Shettar, the power of the Congress has increased in the state and it is certain to win 150 seats: Mallikarjun Kharge

For the upcoming Assembly polls in Karnataka state on May 10th, there is a churning happening in all parties. In this vein, finishing his long ties with the saffron party, former Chief Minister of Karnataka and six-time MLA Jagdish Shettar formally joined Congress on Monday. It is to be noted that Lingayat face Jagdish Shettar joining Congress will help to build the party’s image in the Lingayat community that is a vote bank for BJP as BS Yediyurappa has a great influence in the community. Congress seems aggressively inclined to use the Lingayat card as a strong asset.

Shettar will now face an election from Hubballi-Dharwad Central from where he has won consecutively since 1994 but on BJP tickets. The BJP on Monday announced the state general secretary Mahesh Tenginkai as their candidate from Hubballi-Dharwad Central. Shettar will file his nomination from Hubballi Dharwad Central on April 19th. Mallikarjun Kharge, AICC President said, “Jagdish Shettar joining will boost Congress party workers’ enthusiasm. With the addition of Jagdish Shettar, the power of the Congress has increased in the state and it is certain to win 150 seats. When someone like Jagdish Shettar realizes there’s something wrong in the BJP then people will also think. When such people are leaving, people’s notions about BJP will eventually change. They will realize that BJP is not giving freedom to their leaders.”

Jagdish Shettar's Media Interaction:

Interacting with the media, Shettar claimed that only a few two-three people take decisions in the BJP party. They are ruining the party in Karnataka by concealing the truth and happenings in the state from PM Modi and Amit Shah. He said, “We all built the BJP because the party is important, not the person. But now the party is under the control of some people.”Shettar said that BJP wanted a written undertaking that I would not contest this time. He said, “They treated me as if I am a small child. I felt humiliated and it hurt my self-respect. I am from an RSS background, but I am secular. I have never made hate speeches against my caste or religion.” He said that throughout my career I treated everyone equally. My ideology is to serve people. I have not joined Congress for power. He further said, "The result of the upcoming polls will be my answer to those in BJP who have taken me lightly. I will work hard to bring Congress to power." When asked by the media, if his exit will hurt BJP’s future projections and how? Shettar replied and said, “Yes, for sure my resignation from the party will impact the saffron party not only in North Karnataka but in the entire State. Many Lingayat leaders and workers are upset seeing this situation and it will work against BJP. He said that BJP has helped me to grow so I admire and value BJP. However, there are some black sheep in the party who are working for their self-interest.  A few BJP functionaries took me as a threat to their Chief Ministerial goals and intentionally created obstacles and they targeted me. In the end, with confidence, he stated, “As am getting full support from my various supporters. I will win with a record margin for the seventh consecutive term.