Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) chief D K Shivakumar said on Monday that several BJP and JD(S) leaders joining the grand old party ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections on May 10 is proof that public sentiment favours the party and that it will come to power.
He was speaking after welcoming back Kudligi BJP MLA N Y Gopalakrishna, who resigned as a legislator on Friday.
"Several BJP and JD(S) leaders are knocking on our door," Shivakumar said. "This is evidence that the voice of the people of the state is in favour of the Congress and that our march is on the right track, towards power," he was quoted as saying by the news agency PTI.
He further said that Gopalakrishna had resigned as a BJP MLA and had joined the Congress and that JD(S) MLA K M Shivalinge Gowda had also resigned and would be joining the party soon, PTI reported.
The voluntary joining of BJP and JD(S) legislators by Congress is "big evidence" that people have decided for a change following the "failure of the double engine government," according to the KPCC chief.
"There is a long list of people who want to join the Congress... the party has not guaranteed any tickets. We will screen every name and only consider them if we are able to accommodate them," he further added that there are some who are willing to join the party unconditionally in order to work for it.
Gopalakrishna, a six-time MLA, previously served in the Congress and was elected four times from the Molakalmuru Assembly seat in Chitradurga district, as well as once from Ballari, before joining the BJP and winning from Kudligi.
After being denied a ticket by the Congress in 2018, he joined the BJP ahead of the elections. Because senior leader Sriramulu was running from Kudligi in the Vijayanagara district, the saffron party chose it over Molakalmuru. He was victorious from there.
Gopalakrishna stated after joining the Congress that he will work for the party's victory in the Ballari, Chitradurga, and Vijayanagara districts, citing his and his family's long association with the party.
He stated that he will work to restore a Congress government in the state, and it is up to the party leadership to nominate him from the Molakalmuru Assembly segment.
Recently, two BJP legislators, Puttanna and Baburao Chinchansur, resigned from the Legislative Council to join the Congress.
After resigning as MLA on March 27, JD(S) MLA S R Srinivas (Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) also joined the Congress.