BENGALURU: In a strange turn of events, Sri Rama Sene chief Pramod Muthalik has pinned his hopes on the BJP for the Belagavi bypoll, to be held on April 17. Muthalik, a BJP member for barely a day in 2014 before he was expelled from the party, told The New Indian Express that he hopes to contest the Belagavi Lok Sabha seat on a BJP ticket and has even written to several party leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and party national president J P Nadda.
The Belagavi seat fell vacant after the death of MP Suresh Angadi last September. Muthalik has had a love-hate relationship with the BJP and the extended Sangh Parivar. He became a member of the RSS after his studies and went on to form the Sri Rama Sene in 2006 after he parted ways with the RSS. He had contested the Dharwad Lok Sabha seat in 2014 against Pralhad Joshi of the BJP and won a mere 5,000 votes.