Bengaluru, Apr 14: Denied an Assembly ticket by the Bharatiya Janata Party, former Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi joined the Congress on Friday.
Savadi resigned as Legislative Council member and from the BJP’s primary membership after the party reportedly asked him to make way for newcomers. He did not get a ticket from the Athani constituency, from where he was elected three times before.
Savadi, however, had lost Athani in 2018 to the Congress’ Mahesh Kumathalli. Kumathalli, who defected to the BJP in 2019 and helped topple the then Congress government, has been given a ticket.
After defection, Kumthalli was re-elected to the Assembly in a 2019 by-election, while Savadi was nominated to the Legislative Council.
A minister in the outgoing Assembly, Savadi is a B.S. Yediyurappa loyalist and a powerful Lingayat leader. After not finding his name in the BJP’s first list of 189 candidates Wednesday, Savadi had said: “I have made my decision. I am not the one who goes around with a begging bowl. I am a self-respecting politician. I am not acting under the influence of anyone.”
KPCC chief D K Shivakumar addressed the media on Friday and confirmed that Savadi has joined the grand old party. “There is no condition. He feels that he has been humiliated. It is our duty to take such great leaders into the Congress Party. There are more than 9-10 sitting MLAs who want to join us but we don’t have space to accommodate them,” D K Shivakumar said upon the former BJP leader’s entry in to the Congress.
The BJP this week released two lists – of 189 and 23 candidates – for the 224-seat Karnataka Assembly that goes to polls on 10 May. The votes will be counted on 13 May.
