HUBBALLI, BENGALURU: Former CM and senior BJP leader Jagadish Shettar late on Saturday evening decided to resign as a member of the Legislative Assembly after talks with senior party leaders over allotting him a ticket from the Hubballi Central Assembly segment failed. Shettar has not spoken about his next move, but he could join Congress, sources said.
Emerging from a meeting with senior party leaders, Shettar announced that he would quit as MLA. He has already sought time with Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri and he is expected to resign on Sunday after reaching Sirsi. He expressed deep disappointment over the way the party treated him and said he faced a lot of humiliation within the party. He will announce his future course of action once he quits his MLA post, the sources said.
Shettar had earlier announced that he would decide his future course of action by Saturday evening. But he postponed it after BJP state election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi expressed to meet him. The leaders arrived at Shettar’s residence by night and held a closed-door meeting for half an hour.
During the meeting, Shettar was told he would not be given the Hubballi-Dharwad Central ticket and any member of his family would be allowed to contest from the seat Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat which he has represented six times. If he is not happy with the officer, he would be made a governor of any state if he retires from active politics,. the sources said. But Shettar refused both offers and asked the leaders the reason behind denying him the ticket. But the delegation did not have any answers it is said.
Shettar said that some forces within BJP wanted to corner him as he is the senior-most leader in the party after BS Yediyurappa and KS Eshwarappa retired from active politics. He said he knows who were behind such activities and he will reveal it at an appropriate time, he added.
Past 2-3 months worst days of my political career, says Shettar
On Saturday morning, Shettar held a meeting with his followers and well-wishers. They expressed their confidence in him and authorised him to take any decision, while assuring him that they would be with under any conditions. Shettar later told reporters that the past two-three months were the worst days of his political career. But, he said, he hopes to retire in good time.While talking to party leaders, he is said to have expressed his anguish and informed them that he should not have encountered such a humiliating situation. Shettar said he wants to contest the election not for money, power or position, but to complete pending projects in his constituency.
CONG THIRD LIST OUT, SAVADI GETS ATHANI
As Congress released its third list of 43 candidates on Saturday, former DCM Laxman Savadi has been given the ticket to contest from Athani, which was denied to him by BJP, leading him to quit the party. Meanwhile, the Congress has kept the Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat vacant expecting former CM Jagadish Shettar to join the party.