Jagdish Shettar’s ghar wapsi

Jagadish Shettar who rejoined BJP being welcomed by the party chief J P Nadda in New Delhi. Pic/PTI

Former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar, who had quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year, rejoined his old party on Thursday. Shettar cited his long association with the BJP, and said many of his well-wishers wanted him to join back the party. The Lingayat leader joined the party in the presence of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa, Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and its media head Anil Baluni.

Party sources said Shettar had met Home Minister Amit Shah and its national president J P Nadda as he was persuaded to rejoin the saffron organisation which he had quit in a huff after being denied a ticket to contest the assembly polls. He had then joined the Congress but lost the polls. The Congress had, however, made him a MLC, a position he has now quit to join the BJP. Shettar also praised PM Modi's leadership, saying India has been strengthened under him.

Breach of trust: Karnataka Congress

Karnataka Congress hit out at former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar for rejoining the BJP, terming his move as a "breach of trust" and questioning his conscience. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and state Congress President and Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said the Congress treated Shettar with respect, after he joined the party ahead of last year's Assembly polls, while the BJP had humiliated him by denying him the ticket to contest the elections in May.

"Jagadish Shettar had told me that he was being requested (by BJP) and workers were being sent to meet him. Yesterday morning too I spoke to him. He had told me that he would not do such a thing and will not go (to BJP), as the Congress party has given him another life in politics. Keeping his words in mind, I spoke about it Mysuru, but now I got information that he is in BJP office," Shivakumar said.

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