Karnataka Polls: Ex-CM Shettar Quits BJP, Congress Denies 2nd Ticket To Siddaramaiah. Latest Developments

Karnataka Polls: Speaking with reporters, Shettar stated: "I have decided to resign from the legislative assembly."

After Savadi BJP gets 2nd major setback as Former CM Jagadish Shettar resigns, while Congress denied 2nd ticket to Siddaramaiah.

Source : PTI

Former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who was refused a ticket to run in the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10, resigned as an MLA on Sunday, delivering a blow to the governing BJP. The 67-year-old leader announced his resignation from the state legislature late Saturday. Shettar, who was the state's opposition leader while the Congress was in power, indicated he will definitely run in the election. Speaking with reporters, Shettar stated: "I have decided to resign from the legislative assembly," news agency PTI reported. 

He further stated that he has requested an appointment with Speaker Vishveshwar Hegde Kageri, who is now in Sirsi, to present his resignation.

"With a heavy heart I will resign from the party. I am the one who has built and raised this party. They (some party leaders) created a situation for me to resign from the party," Shettar was quoted by PTI in its report.

Latest Developments:

• The Lingayat leader further claimed that there was a deliberate plot against him and said that although he had never been indurate, the party had made him so. Following a failed attempt to overcome the impasse at a meeting with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union Ministers Pralhad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan, the six-time MLA made the announcement shortly after. On Saturday night, the group arrived to his residence after he protested the BJP's decision to not field him from the Hubli-Dharwad central constituency.
• This is the BJP's second significant setback. Former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi had already resigned from the party and joined the Congress. Savadi was furious because the BJP fielded Mahesh Kumathalli, who was previously with the Congress but defected in support of the BJP in order to bring down the coalition government of the Congress and the JD(S) led by H D Kumaraswamy in 2019.
• BM Mallikarjuna, also known as 'Fighter Ravi,' resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. In the run-up to the Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was accused of socialising with rowdy-sheeters. However, 'Silent' Sunil and 'Fighter' Ravi, who brought the party a lot of flak, did not get the ticket, prompting Sunil supporters to protest in front of the BJP office in Bengaluru. Manikantha Rathod, another rowdy-sheeter, has been given the ticket to run against Congress leader Priyank Kharge in the Chittapur constituency.
• The Congress party on Saturday released the third list of 43 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka elections. The party has fielded former deputy CM of the state Laxman Savadi from the Athani constituency. Kolar seat has been given to Kothur G Manjunath. This comes a day after Congress lashed out at the BJP accusing the party of not treating its leaders in the right way. While talking to the media, former Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah said that BJP should not have treated Savadi like this by denying him a ticket at all despite the fact that he's a senior leader in the party. Interestingly, former Chief Minister Siddharamaiah has not been fielded from the Kolar assembly constituency, which he was seeking as his second constituency.
• Bhavani Revanna, daughter-on-law of JD(S) patriarch and former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda was denied a ticket as the party on Friday released its second list of 49 candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections. Ending the suspense about the Hassan constituency, JD(S) fielded H P Swaroop instead of Revanna, who was firm on contesting the state elections from this seat.
• Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Saturday filed his nomination from the Shiggaon Assembly constituency for the upcoming elections in the state. This comes amid a string of resignations in the BJP over the distribution of tickets to contest the polls. On Friday, former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi joined the Congress after the saffron party denied him a ticket and will be contesting the polls from the Athani constituency.
• Raghu Achar, former MLC and Congress leader joined Janata Dal(Secular), JD(S), in the presence of party leader HD Kumaraswamy. "Former Legislative Council member Raghu Achar from Chitradurga had already spoken and he himself said that he would join the JDS”, the party chief had told the media on Sunday, ANI reported.

(With Inputs From Agencies)