Former Bharatiya Janata Party leader Jagadish Shettar met Rahul Gandhi on Sunday for the first time after joining Congress and said that he became a part of the grand old party because of the "ill-treatment" advocated by the BJP.
After meeting Congress Rahul Gandhi, Mr Shettar said, "First meeting with Rahul Gandhi and we discussed so many issues..."
"I came to join Congress because everyone knows the ill-treatment given by BJP. So, I have shifted to another national party. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of that party. So, I discussed many things," Mr Shettar told ANI.
Jagadish Shettar on Thursday alleged that "some people with vested interests are controlling" the BJP government in Karnataka.
Mr Shettar said, "The BJP government has completed 5 years in Karnataka. People are talking about the ill-treatment of seniors but not about other issues like development. Have important issues been solved? But now due to the negligence of the seniors (BJP), this discussion was started. Some people with vested interest are controlling the entire BJP in Karnataka and govt."
Jagadish Shettar filed his nomination from the Hubli-Dharwad-Central Assembly constituency on Wednesday for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections.
Jagadish Shettar became the second senior leader from the Lingayat community to leave the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and join Congress in less than a week. Earlier, former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi joined the Congress.
Mr Shettar is set to face BJP's candidate Mahesh Tenginkai in the election.
Mr Shettar on Monday joined the Congress party a day after he quit BJP ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in the State.
Mr Shettar was inducted into the party in presence of Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge, the Karnataka state Congress president DK Shivakumar and the Leader of Opposition in the state assembly Siddaramaiah.
Senior BJP leader Amar Singh Patil also joined Congress along with Shettar.
The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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