BENGALURU: KPCC president DK Shivakumar on Thursday claimed that 37 Janata Dal (Secular) leaders are set to join the Congress.
“A few have already joined our party and the remaining, including Arsikere MLA KM Shivalinge Gowda, will join the Congress soon,” Shivakumar told reporters after former Gubbi JDS MLA SR Srinivas joined the Congress.
The Kanakapura MLA claimed that more leaders from rival parties will join the Congress ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections. “There is a list of those joining the party and they will be inducted into the party in a phased manner,” he said.
He said several BJP leaders, including Puttanna and Baburao Chinchansur, who resigned as MLCs, have joined the Congress. “BS Yediyurappa’s close aides Mohan Limbikai and UB Banakar, CM Basavaraj Bommai’s close aide Manjunath Kunnur and many others have joined the Congress,” he added.
He said Srinivas joining the Congress will boost the party’s performance not only in Tumakuru but the entire Old Mysuru region. “KM Shivalinge Gowda has also expressed his intention to resign as an MLA and join the Congress soon,” he claimed.
In the past, former MLCs Beml Kantaraju and Manohar and Kolar MLA Srinivasa Gowda quit the JDS and joined the Congress. “As many as 37 leaders, including Madhu Bangarappa from Soraba and Devendrappa from Davanagere, have joined the Congress from JDS,” he elaborated.
Shivakumar also criticised the BJP for accusing him of inviting BJP leaders to join the Congress. “Bommai accused me of calling BJP MLAs and inviting them to join the Congress. But the BJP knocked at the doors of 18 MLAs, including 13 from the Congress, to form the government,” Shivakumar said.
Meanwhile, CLP leader Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that the party will come back to power in Karnataka. “People feel that only Congress can save the state from corruption and misrule. Many MLAs and MLCs from JDS and BJP are joining the Congress,” he said.
He also said that the JDS will never come to power on its own as former prime minister HD Deve Gowda and former CM HD Kumaraswamy are no longer new faces in politics. “In JDS, the Gowda family’s decision is final...other leaders cannot express their opinion. I was removed from the party for expressing my opinion and now SR Srinivas has faced the same fate,” he said.