KALABURAGI: Chincholi MLA Umesh Jadhav joined the BJP in a public function, just before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Wednesday. Though Jadhav has tendered his resignation from Congress, the Speaker is yet to accept it.
Inducting him into the party, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa presented Jadhav a party flag and an announcement was made that he was now a member of the saffron party. Eight Banjara women clad in Lambani attire arrived on the dais carrying holy water in a pot (Purna Kumbha), a religious gesture to mark Jadhav’s enrolment into the BJP. Jadhav’s elder brother led the Banjara women.
Jadhav said that BJP leaders had welcomed him to their party “wholeheartedly”. “Kalaburagi voters should write a new history in the constituency. I am a simple man contesting against a giant. You will be my strength to defeat the giant,” Jadhav told the gathering.
Senior BJP leader R Ashoka said, “The first wicket of the coalition government has fallen. Many more will fall. We are yet to unleash our spin and googly balls.” Former minister Babu Rao Chinchansur described Jadhav as a horse, and said that it is now up to the people to make him a winning horse.
While welcoming Modi, Yeddyurappa appreciated his “able leadership” and hailed the Indian Air Force for its successful air strikes in Pakistan. He assured the PM that the people of Karnataka will elect at least 22 BJP candidates in the upcoming elections. “Modi has established a corruption-free government, which has enhanced India’s image in the eyes of the world,” he added.