In a major political development in the poll bound Karnataka, two JD(S) MLAs have joined the BJP giving impetus to its poll campaign to win Karnataka which is crucial for the party to enter South.
JD(S) legislators, Manappa Vajjal from Lingasagur and S Shivaraj Patil from Raichur City, on Thursday resigned as MLAs and joined the BJP in the presence of senior BJP leaders including Yeddyurappa, Union Ministers Piyush Goel, Ananth kumar and others. Gauribidanur Congress leaders Jaypal Reddy and Congress Block President G K Satish Kumar have also joined BJP.
Political experts say this is the first major poaching from BJP which will certainly benefit the party in the
Hyderabad-Karnataka region. Many insiders in the party say this is the preamble to the major operation Lotus which would have a major impact in the elections.
Two leaders who joined BJP said that the JD(S) leadership had side-lined them for the last one year. "We were not taken into confidence on many occasions. The party refused to address our grouses. Hence we were forced to exit the party and join the BJP," they said.
Talking to reporters Yeddyurappa claimed that there was a 'big line' of Congress and JD(S) leaders who wanted to join BJP before the election and this includes many sitting MLAs. The joining of the two MLAs was only a beginning and said their joining in BJP will strengthen the party in Raichur district.
Union Railway Minister and Karnataka in charge, Piyush Goyal said that BJP do not have any truck with JDS or any other party. Goyal said BJP was not trying to have any pre-poll or post-poll understanding with JD(S) as it was confident of winning two-thirds majority in the May election. Replying to a question on why he had met JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda in New Delhi recently and whether the BJP was trying to forge any poll alliance, he said Gowda wanted to meet him to discuss some Railway projects in Karnataka and hence he met him. ''BJP is confident of winning at least 150 seats in Karnataka. I went and met Gowda, who wanted to meet me, due to the respect I have on this veteran leader and former Prime Minister. Even if Manmohan Singh wants to meet me to discuss issues regarding my Ministry, I will personally go and meet him,'' Goyal said.
''BJP will welcome all those good leaders from other parties and give them their due place as it did in Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal in the recent elections,'' Goyal added.
Yeddyurappa slammed Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for announcing that he would present State budget next month. ''The Chief Minister during the last few months of Congress rule has no right to present a full-fledged budget and he should seek a Vote on Account,'' he said. Yeddyurappa alleged that the State Government had not spent even 50 per cent of the 2017-18 budgetary allocations and the Chief Minister was looking to spend over `80,000 crore in the next few months.