New Delhi: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who re-joined BJP on Thursday, said that he came back to the saffron party as he considers the party his "home." He said that he has come back to his home.
Jagadish, formerly associated with the BJP, resigned from the party to join the Congress before the Karnataka Assembly Elections in 2023 after he was denied a ticket by the saffron party.
On re-joining BJP, Shettar said, "Today I joined the BJP...It is my home. I came back to my home...Whatever the high command directs, I will do.."
Shettar, a prominent leader in the Lingayat community, served as Karnataka's 15th Chief Minister from July 2012 till May 2013.
Shettar rejoined the BJP in the presence of former Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa, Union Minister Bhupender Singh Yadav, Karnataka BJP president Vijayendra Yediyurappa and Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
Former Karnataka CM and BJP leader BS Yediyurappa also reacted to the development. He said, "He (Jagadish Shettar) was thinking of coming back to BJP and today we welcomed him back to the party."
Earlier today, Shettar said, "The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the past. Due to some issues, I went to the Congress party. In the last 8-9 months, there were a lot of discussions, also BJP workers asked me to come back to the BJP."
"Yediyurappa ji and Vijayendra ji also wanted me to come back to the BJP. I am rejoining the party with the belief that Narendra Modi ji has to become the PM again," he said.
The Congress, however, maintained that it had provided a post to the former CM despite his electoral defeat, while the BJP contended that Shettar faced discomfort within the Congress.
Commencing his political journey in the 1980s, Jagadish Shettar assumed multiple roles within the BJP, serving as the state president and leader of the opposition in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly. He also served as Speaker of the Karnataka Assembly after the BJP won the state for the first time in 2008.