BBENGALURU —In what is being seen as a big blow to BJP’s Karnataka unit ahead of Assembly elections, senior party leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar joined Congress on Monday, a day after he snapped ties with the saffron party.

He was welcomed by AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC General Secretary B.C. Venugopal at the COngress headquarters here.

With the joining of Shettar, the task given by Rahul Gandhi to win more than 150 seats in Karnataka is appearing closer, Kharge stated. “I welcome him wholeheartedly to the party,” he added.

Though he hailed from Jan Sangh and RSS, Shettar has never done wrong. He had worked in the positions of DCM, Speaker and CM. No controversy has courted him, Kharge stated.

“I have spent 38 years in the legislature. When we were in power Shettar used to be in Opposition and vice-versa. There was no situation of confrontation ever between us,” he further said.

His joining Congress is a sign of grand-old party winning 150 seats in the Assembly polls. “The Congress party will have benefits in all regions and especially in Hubballi-Dharwad district. He is joining Congress as his self respect is harmed.”

Terming it a “historical” day, state Congress President D.K. Shivakumar said that this is a historical day for the party and the state politics. He is a simple politician and there is no black mark on him and he never faced defeat in elections and welcomed him. — IANS

_____________

Photo: Former Karnataka CM, former BJP state president Jagdish Shettar joins Congress party in the presence of AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, KPCC president DK Shivakumar and others at KPCC in Bengaluru on Monday. — IANS