BENGALURU: Disgruntled Channapatna MLA C P Yogeshwar announced that he is quitting the Congress party on Saturday. The MLA, who had contested the 2013 elections on a Samajwadi Party ticket had quit that party and joined Congress as an associate member in 2014.
Yogeshwar, who is seriously courting BJP, however said that he will announce whether he will join a party or contest independently after consulting his supporters.
Yogeshwar had earlier quit Congress in 2008 and joined BJP. After winning the seat on a BJP ticket, he was also made a minister in Yeddyurappa’s cabinet. Sources say he has similar plans now as he wants to strike a deal with BJP to give him a cabinet berth if he wins. His plans of joining JD(S) might not work out as Yogeshwar is said to have sought a ticket for his daughter too.
His resignation was expected as murmurs of dissent had crept in some time back and he had stayed away from party activities in Ramanagara area. His absence during the ‘Mane Manege Congress’ campaign was duly noted, but he had then denied any plans of quitting the party.
While announcing his decision to quit, he complained about Congress having treating him shabbily and keeping him out of all important decisions. “They have used me on several occasions, but then ignored me. They never allowed me to develop my taluk,” he said
Predictably, Yogeshwar did not spare his bete noire Energy Minister D K Shivakumar saying the latter had tried to create obstacles for him from the very beginning. “The first time when I wanted a Congress ticket, it was Shivakumar who tore up the papers and asked why I needed to contest. More than 20 years later, he is still trying to stop me,” he alleged.
He also took potshots at Shivakumar that he had not been financially deprived even after the Income Tax raids on him. “No laws of this country can shake him. He is spending so much money in this taluk that it has made me anxious,” he said. Reacting to his allegations, Shivakumar said the party had given him all support. “No one can support him as much as the CM and the party has supported him,” he said.