The Karnataka BJP on Monday, April 17 appeared defiant in suggesting that senior leader and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar’s resignation from the BJP will not adversely affect the party in the upcoming state assembly elections. Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress party on Monday morning in the presence of senior Congress leaders and slammed the BJP for mistreating him.
Responding to the developments, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the charges levelled by Jagadish Shettar were far from the truth. He reiterated that there is no threat to the BJP vote bank. “One has to give any reason before leaving the party. Everything had been given to Shettar in political life in the last 25 years. There was no question of neglecting him but it was only a reason to quit the party,” he said.
Bommai added that wherever he goes for campaigning, there has been a tremendous response, indicating that the BJP's support base remains intact. Bommai also criticised Shettar's decision to join the Congress party, stating that the culture of the Congress party is to initially honour leaders and then later insult them. He said that Shettar would be used and eventually discarded by the Congress party. “Shettar had gone to the party that threw out leaders like Devaraja Urs, Veerendra Patil, and S Bangarappa. The culture of the Congress Party was to honour them first and insult them later. They will use Shettar and throw him out. Lingayats will remain with the BJP as long as BS Yediyurappa is with us,” Bommai said.
Meanwhile, senior BJP leader KS Eshwarappa has written an open letter to Shettar questioning his decision to join Congress. He also asked if Shettar would support Congress’s stance on issues such as anti-cow slaughter law and ban on Popular Front of India (PFI) if they came to power. “DK Shivakumar & Siddaramaiah said that they will withdraw the ban on PFI if they come to power. So you support terrorism? Ask that... will your father's soul in heaven rest in peace with the addition of Congress? You have done so much for the BJP. What would you say if your grandson asks why you joined Congress?” Eshwarappa wrote in the letter.
Karnataka Minister CN Ashwath Narayan said, “Despite him getting all the positions in the BJP party, he has disrespected the party by joining Congress.” He further said that Congress will face a setback by taking in Shettar and that BJP won’t be affected by his departure.
Jagadish Shettar, who had represented the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency for six terms since 1994, resigned from the BJP expressing disappointment over the party's decision asking him to step away from contesting the polls and make way for younger leaders. He mentioned that he felt hurt by the treatment meted out to him and that the BJP had changed from its party-first approach to a people-centric party.
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