BENGALURU: Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna on Thursday said that BJP leader and former minister B Sriramulu is welcome to join the Congress. “He is a powerful leader from my community (ST Nayaka). He is an influential leader who can take all communities into confidence.
By floating his own party (BSR Congress) in 2011, Sriramulu won four seats in the 2013 Assembly elections. If he is miffed with the BJP leadership and wants to join the Congress, I will welcome him,” Rajanna told the media in Tumakuru. Rajanna claimed that Gangavathi MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy grooming Bangaru Hanumantha, who lost the recent bypolls from Sandur, might have not gone down too well with Sriramulu.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister N Chaluarayaswamy said that Sriramulu has been trying to join the Congress since 2024 Lok Sabha polls. “The development started in 2024, but it did not materialise.
Now, he may join Congress or remain in BJP owing to pressure (from high command). CM Siddaramaiah and DyCM DK Shivakumar have taken a decision in this regard.
Ultimately, AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge has to give his seal of approval,” the minister told the media in Bengaluru. He opined that Sriramulu joining the Congress will not affect the leadership of PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, also a ST Nayaka leader.