Tumkur rural BJP MLA B Suresh Gowda seems to have deliberately kept himself away from former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP).
While the KJP convention was going on in Haveri, Gowda was attending public functions in his constituency on Sunday.
Since he realised that it would be tough for him to win as a KJP candidate, especially in rural Assembly constituency he would join the Congress with the consent of his “guru” Yeddyyurappa, a KJP source told Express.
This also hints at a tacit alliance between the Congress and the KJP in some constituencies, source added. Gowda, a first time MLA, till recently had been hitting out at Yeddyurappa detractors whenever they attacked him.
Though some of the ministers, including Shobha Karandlaje attended the tea party arranged in Haveri, Gowda’s decision not to go to Haveri has been deliberate.
Another source said that since several multi-crore projects, including the Bellavi lift irrigation project and drinking water project on Hebbur-Guluru lift irrigation in the constituency, started functioning, he remained with the BJP.
Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had to clear the deck for these projects which Gowda had promised to his voters.
Meanwhile, he was also looking at various options since the Lingayat community’s votebank was not as big as Vokkaligas and Dalits in the constituency, said another source.
He also held a deliberation with some of the Congress leaders to join the party which would be safe option for him, it added.
At that instance he would get a dummy candidate from Vokkaliga community as a KJP candidate against him.