Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar, who quit BJP nine months back to join Congress, rejoins BJP

New Delhi: Barely a couple of hours after Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah confidently stated in Mysuru during a press conference that former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar had no intentions of leaving the Congress, Shettar surprised everyone by rejoining his original party, the BJP, at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi later this afternoon. This unexpected move has sent shock waves through the ruling Congress in Karnataka.

The Lingayat leader had left the BJP ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections in May 2023 as he was denied a ticket. This afternoon, he reached the BJP headquarters where he was welcomed back to the party by BJP National President J.P. Nadda in the presence of former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Union Minister Bhupendra Yadav and State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra. 

“BJP gave me a lot of responsibilities and top posts in the past. Because of some issues, I went to the Congress party. In the last 8-9 months, there were a lot of discussions in the BJP. Karnataka BJP leaders and 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,” Shettar said.

Stating that PM Modi is doing an excellent job for taking the country to much greater heights in the global scenario, he said that he was returning to the party without any demands to work under the unmatched leadership of Modi. He further said that there was a lot of pressure from his fans and followers to rejoin the BJP. 

Jagadish Shettar, the six-term MLA (former) from Hubballi-Dharwad Central, left the BJP as he was denied a ticket from the party. Later he joined the Congress, and contested from the same constituency where he lost by a huge margin to BJP’s Mahesh Tenginkai. Shettar was  thereafter made an MLC by the Congress.

When Shettar left the BJP in April 2023, he said he was humiliated by the senior leaders of the BJP and that his decision to quit the saffron party was final.