BENGALURU: Former minister Malikayya Guttedar quit the BJP and joined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and DCM DK Shivakumar here on Friday.
The six-time Afzalpur MLA was sulking over the induction of his brother Nitin Guttedar into the BJP, and went hammer and tongs against former CM BS Yediyurappa and his son BY Vijayendra, BJP state president. Nitin had contested as an independent against Malikayya in the 2023 assembly polls that had helped MY Patil of the Congress wrest the seat. Nitin had come in second and Malikayya was pushed to third place.
The return of veteran leader Malikayya (67) to the Congress has come as a shot in the arm for AICC president Mallikarjuna Kharge’s son-in-law Radhakrishna Doddamani, candidate from Kalaburagi LS seat, which goes to polls on May 7. RDPR Minister Priyank Kharge held negotiations with Malikayya and played a key role in bringing him back to the Congress, according to sources.
“Guttedar has been with us for many years but joined the BJP for some reason. Realising there is no future in BJP, he has made a comeback unconditionally. We have worked together in the past and he has built the Congress party and held many posts too,” remarked DCM and KPCC president DK Shivakumar.
Not even single-digit seats for BJP: DKS
DCM Shivakumar said the BJP will not win even single-digit seats in South India, including Kerala and Telangana. Shivakumar has campaigned in these states for Congress candidates.
“A lot of people are leaving the BJP in North India as well. If they were confident of winning 400 seats, why would they have joined other parties? According to information I have received, NDA will not win even 200 seats in the country,” he said. In Karnataka, the BJP-JDS alliance is facing strong opposition from their own workers, he alleged. Many workers and leaders have left the BJP and JDS and are leaning towards the Congress. “BJP has lost its voice and its leaders are joining the Congress like a chain. I have instructed local leaders to induct those who are interested,” he said.
Former MLA Sharada Mohan Shetty, Aam Aadmi Party’s Nataraj and many other leaders joined the Congress.
Contribution of Centre to Karnataka nil, says Surjewala
Shivamogga: The Congress will continue with its winning streak in Shivamogga, and the party will register victory in more than 20 Parliamentary constituencies of the state, claimed Randeep Singh Surjewala, state in-charge of Congress. Talking to the media after inaugurating the guarantee festival here on Friday, Surjewala said that when the Congress announced its guarantees, PM Narendra Modi ridiculed it. “Now, interestingly, the PM speaks about ‘Modi Guarantee’,” he stated. Surjewala alleged that both Modi and former CM BS Yediyurappa have given ‘Chombu’ (empty pot) to the people of the state. This was how the Congress exhibited the schemes offered by the BJP to the people in the advertisement, he criticised. “Now, BY Vijayendra is on his way to give ‘empty pot’ to people. The people have lost confidence in BJP, and the Congress will get more than 20 seats,” he claimed. “The state government has met all guarantees announced by the Congress before the election. Yediyurappa told the Centre not to release rice to the state, but the Congress gave away cash instead of rice to the people,” he further claimed.
He alleged that Modi waived off loans of private companies, but the Congress would waive off loans of farmers if voted to power. The Congress also assures to enhance labour charges to Rs 530 per day for those who work under MGNREGA scheme, he said. He alleged that the contribution of the elected 26 BJP MPs to the state was nil.
This time around, the BJP will fail in getting more than 200 seats in the country, claimed Surjewala. Replying to a question on the murder in Hubballi, Surjewala said the police arrested the accused within six hours. The latter has to face the consequences and will be punished, he added. ENS