Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said BJP leader CP Yogeshwar was welcome to the Congress if he had faith in the party’s ideology, adding fuel to the speculations that the former minister would contest on a Congress ticket from Channapatna, the assembly seat vacated by Union Heavy Industries & Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
The CM, replying to queries from the media, said DK Suresh, who lost the recent Lok Sabha polls from Bengaluru Rural, was also a strong contender for the seat. A clear picture will emerge in two days, he added. Suresh, a three-time MP, is the brother of Dy CM DK Shivakumar.
Kumaraswamy told media that BJP national president JP Nadda and union minister Pralhad Joshi had requested him to give the JDS ticket to Yogeshwar, but he found Congress leaders queuing up to welcome him. The union minister defeated Yogeshwar in last year’s assembly polls. Yogeshwar’s unexpected resignation as BJP MLC on Monday has raised the temperature in the BJP and JDS camps.
“Since morning, all Congress leaders have been giving statements one after the other, welcoming Yogeshwar if he wishes to join the Congress party. Three days ago, Nadda suggested that we give the ticket from the JDS party to Yogeshwar. We had decided to respect his words. I had also discussed this matter at the party platform”, Kumaraswamy said in response to a media query.
“Earlier, Yogeshwar used to say he would contest on a ticket from any party. Then he changed his stand,” the JDS leader said. “While Nadda and Joshi were suggesting his name, Yogeshwar was now saying he would either contest from the BJP or as an independent. But the Congress leaders have lined up to welcome him. What am I supposed to do?”.
The union minister, who is also the JDS State President, ruled out giving the ticket to Yogeshwar, saying that there was no question of going against the wishes of party workers.
At an earlier meeting at the party office in Bengaluru, sections of party workers raised slogans urging Kumaraswamy to name his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, as the candidate for Channapatna. The young leader has faced electoral defeat twice.
Of the three assembly seats voting in bypolls on November 3, Channapatna has become a pain point for the BJP-JDS combine, reviving hopes in the Congress of wresting the seat back.
The CM, replying to queries from the media, said DK Suresh, who lost the recent Lok Sabha polls from Bengaluru Rural, was also a strong contender for the seat. A clear picture will emerge in two days, he added. Suresh, a three-time MP, is the brother of Dy CM DK Shivakumar.
Kumaraswamy told media that BJP national president JP Nadda and union minister Pralhad Joshi had requested him to give the JDS ticket to Yogeshwar, but he found Congress leaders queuing up to welcome him. The union minister defeated Yogeshwar in last year’s assembly polls. Yogeshwar’s unexpected resignation as BJP MLC on Monday has raised the temperature in the BJP and JDS camps.
“Since morning, all Congress leaders have been giving statements one after the other, welcoming Yogeshwar if he wishes to join the Congress party. Three days ago, Nadda suggested that we give the ticket from the JDS party to Yogeshwar. We had decided to respect his words. I had also discussed this matter at the party platform”, Kumaraswamy said in response to a media query.
“Earlier, Yogeshwar used to say he would contest on a ticket from any party. Then he changed his stand,” the JDS leader said. “While Nadda and Joshi were suggesting his name, Yogeshwar was now saying he would either contest from the BJP or as an independent. But the Congress leaders have lined up to welcome him. What am I supposed to do?”.
The union minister, who is also the JDS State President, ruled out giving the ticket to Yogeshwar, saying that there was no question of going against the wishes of party workers.
At an earlier meeting at the party office in Bengaluru, sections of party workers raised slogans urging Kumaraswamy to name his son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy, as the candidate for Channapatna. The young leader has faced electoral defeat twice.
Of the three assembly seats voting in bypolls on November 3, Channapatna has become a pain point for the BJP-JDS combine, reviving hopes in the Congress of wresting the seat back.
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