There has been a flurry of politicians making a beeline for the Congress party in Karnataka recently, ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. The latest to make the switch is SR Srinivas, who represents the Gubbi seat in the Tumakuru district. Srinivas submitted his resignation from the Legislative Assembly on Monday, March 27, and is expected to contest the elections on a Congress ticket. He plans to officially join the Congress on March 31.
Srinivas, also known as 'Gubbi' Srinivas, was expelled from JD(S) last year after being accused of cross-voting in the Rajya Sabha elections. The party claimed his actions contributed to the defeat of its candidate. JD(S) also moved a petition to disqualify him and another MLA Srinivas Gowda, under the anti-defection law. Srinivas said he is leaving the party with a "heavy heart" after working under the leadership of HD Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy for 20 years.
Baburao Chinchansur, a BJP MLC from the Koli Kabbaliga community, officially joined Congress at the residence of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president DK Shivakumar on March 23. Chinchansur had resigned from the BJP, which he had joined in 2018, just a day prior to his joining Congress.
BJP MLC from Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency Puttanna, a Vokkaliga leader, resigned from the Legislative Council and the BJP's primary membership to join Congress on March 10. And two former Congress MLAs and a former mayor from Mysuru returned to the party after a stint in the BJP. Nanjundaswamy and Manohar Ainapur, both former MLAs, rejoined the party along with former Mysuru mayor Purushottam of the BSP.
In February, HD Thammaiah, a Lingayat leader from Chikkamagaluru and a close aide to BJP heavyweight leader CT Ravi, resigned from the BJP and joined Congress. Former lawmakers KS Kiran Kumar and Sandesh Nagaraj of the BJP and H Ningappa from JD(S) also joined Congress on February 20. The party said the defections would give it an edge in the upcoming elections.
YSV Datta and H Nagesh, previously associated with JD(S), joined Congress on January 14. Datta is a former Kadur MLA and a trusted ally of JD(S) leader HD Deve Gowda. Nagesh, an independent candidate, represented Mulbagal in the Assembly and had served as a minister in the JD(S)-Congress coalition government before offering support to the BJP.
Sports Minister Narayana Gowda, who defected to Congress from BJP in 2019, recently hinted at his possible return to Congress. Housing Minister V Somanna, a prominent Lingayat leader, is reportedly unhappy with the BJP. After rumours started swirling that he might join Congress, Somanna clarified that he had no intention of leaving the party.