KASARGOD: Two days after he quit the Congress, Badiadka grama panchayat president K N Krishna Bhat joined BJP on Thursday. His entry will provide a boost to the saffron party, which is locked in a tight fight with UDF in the local body.Along with Bhat, 50 other Congress members, including his wife K N Sheela Bhat, joined the party, said BJP district president K Shreekanth.
Son of revered social worker Sairam Bhat, Krishna Bhat holds considerable sway over Congress workers in Badiadka and his exit just before the local body polls can hurt the party. “BJP strikes big in Kasaragod,” Shreekanth announced on Twitter on Thursday. District Congress president Hakkim Kunnil accused Bhat of being power hungry. “He was in the Badiadka panchayat board for 20 years, the last five as president. It must be the hunger for power that made him join BJP,” said Hakkim, adding that Bhat’s exit would not hurt Congress.