Lingayat leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who had quit the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections in 2023 as he was not given a ticket, has rejoined the party. He reached the BJP headquarters on Thursday afternoon where he was welcomed back into the party in the presence of former CM BS Yediyurappa and state BJP president BY Vijayendra.
Jagadish Shettar was welcomed back into the BJP
Jagadish Shettar said, “The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the past. Because of some issues, I joined the Congress Party. There were a lot of discussions in BJP in the last 8-9 months. Karnataka BJP leaders and workers asked me to come back to BJP. Yediyurappa ji and Vijayendra ji also wanted me to return to BJP. I am rejoining the party with the belief that Narendra Modi ji has to become the Prime Minister again.
Congress has suffered a big blow with Jagadish Shettar joining BJP. Congress leaders said this is a clear sign of weakness in the party.
Jagadish Shettar, six-time MLA (former) from Hubli, left BJP as he was not given a ticket from the party. After joining Congress, he contested from his Hubli-Central Dharwad constituency, where he lost to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai by a huge margin. Congress made him MLC.
When Shettar left the BJP in April 2023, he said that he was insulted by senior BJP leaders and his decision to leave the saffron party was final.
Shettar, 68, a staunch RSS worker, served as the Chief Minister of Karnataka in 2012-2013 when Yediyurappa had to step down as CM. Shettar was also the Assembly Speaker in 2008.
Many Congress leaders have expressed disappointment over Shettar joining the BJP. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said, “This is a clear sign of weakness in the party. They do not have candidates for the upcoming general elections.”
Another Congress leader said, “It is very disappointing that Jagadish Shettar has decided to join the BJP. He had earlier said that he was insulted by the BJP leaders. Why has he come back now? It is clear. That he was not given any role in the Congress.”
However, some political analysts believe that Jagadish Shettar’s joining BJP may increase the party’s votes from the Lingayat community. Lingayat community is a major community of Karnataka and plays an important role in the politics of Karnataka.
