BJP MLA Jagadish Shettar has offered the quit the party and resign as MLA
After threatening to contest as an independent if not given a ticket from Hubballi-Dharwad seat, BJP MLA and former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar has offered to quit the party and has sought an appointment with the Speaker to resign as an MLA.
The Karnataka BJP has released two lists of candidates for the assembly election to be held next month, but 12 more candidates - including one for the Hubballi-Dharwad seat - are yet to be announced for the 224-member assembly.
"I am not the kind of person who is adamant and stubborn, but this time I am being stubborn because the party has humiliated me. They did not understand what I have been trying to tell them," Mr Shettar told reporters late on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan met Mr Shettar at his home for talks on the matter, but it appears the talks broke down.
"I have always been saying that I will contest this election and since I am hurt today, I am resigning from my MLA post. I will meet the Speaker tomorrow. With a heavy heart, I will quit the party that I helped built in Karnataka," Mr Shettar said.
Mr Shettar said he respects Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah for the good work they are doing. He had also met party chief JP Nadda in Delhi earlier this week to request for a ticket.
"But it looks like things are taking place without their attention," Mr Shettar said, adding his supporters want him to contest and he will not betray them.
One more Lingayat Leader of the BJP, Laxman Savadi, also quit the party and joined the Congress. He has been given a ticket. The Congress released its third list today, but is yet to announce 15 more in which Hubballi-Dharwad is also included.
Mr Shettar has won six elections in the past. He won by over 21,000 votes in the last assembly election in 2018, defeating his Congress rival Mahesh Nalwad.
The BJP tends to bring in new, younger faces before state elections, as was seen in Gujarat last year before the assembly election. Former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, former deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel and former state party president RC Faldu, among others, had written letters agreeing to the request by the BJP leadership to make way for others.
The former Chief Minister has been associated with many reforms including the Kalasa Banduri drinking water project, construction of the assembly building in Belagavi and bringing the South Western Railways headquarters to the Hubballi-Dharwad region.
He comes from the powerful Lingayat community, whose support every party seeks.
Karnataka will vote on May 10; votes will be counted three days later.