BENGALURU: Former Minister and veteran Dalit leader Srinivas Prasad on Saturday said he was joining BJP. Prasad had resigned from primary membership of Congress party and also from the assembly after he was dropped from Siddaramaiah ministry earlier this year. He was revenue minister in the Congress government.
Prasad announced his decision to join BJP after meeting state unit president and former CM BS Yeddyurappa at his residence in Bengaluru. He will formally join the party at a rally that the party is organising in Mysore during first week of January.
Prasad will be the BJP candidate in Nanjangud constituency in Mysore district where by-election is necessitated after his resignation from the assembly membership.
Nanjangud by-election is seen as a contest between Prasad and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. Congress is yet to announce its candidate for the assembly election in CM's home district. After being dropped from the ministry, Prasad has been a vocal critic of Siddaramaiah and his government.