Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, while commenting on Jagadish Shettar’s decision to exit the BJP over the denial of a ticket, stated that the latter’s statements had made the party unhappy. Former CM and Lingayat leader, Shettar, left the BJP and resigned from the legislative assembly after meeting Karnataka Assembly speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri on Sunday amid speculations of him joining the Congress.
Yediyurappa while commenting on Shettar’s anti-party move said, “We made him (Jagadish Shettar) the CM of Karnataka, and we made him the state BJP president. The statements given by him have made us unhappy. People knew about Jagadish Shettar only because of BJP.”
‘Shettar refused a ministerial position in cabinet’
Yediyurappa claimed that Jagadish Shettar was offered a ministerial position in the cabinet by Union Education Minister and Karnataka Election in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan but the latter didn’t respond to the offer. “People from Karnataka will not forgive Jagadish Shettar. We had offered a ticket to Jagadish Shatter’s family. Even after that Shettar wishes to resign.”
Union Education Minister Pralhad Joshi, Dharmendra Pradhan, and CM Bommai on Saturday held a meeting with former CM Jagadish Shettar at his residence amid his ultimatum to the party for an election ticket. According to sources, the BJP leaders offered several posts and tickets to his family members, but Shettar stood firm on his decision to exit the saffron camp.
Notably, the party’s high command had earlier asked the Lingayat strongman to reportedly back down and not seek an MLA ticket for a fresh term, in a bid to give way to fresh faces. Shettar’s name also went missing from his desired constituency in BJP’s first two lists of candidates for the Karnataka polls.
‘Betrayal of trust’: Yediyurappa slams Savadi for joining Congress
In another massive jolt to the BJP in poll-bound Karnataka, former Deputy CM and MLC Laxman Savadi resigned from the party after he was denied a ticket from the Athani assembly constituency. He served as Athani legislator for three terms but lost to Congress’ Mahesh Kumathalli in the 2018 assembly polls. However, the BJP high command made him a Member of the Legislative Council and allowed him to serve as CM Yediyurappa’s deputy from 2019 to 2021.
After leaving the saffron camp, Savadi joined the Congress earlier this week and got the party’s ticket from the Athani constituency. While taking a swipe at Savadi, veteran BJP leader Yediyurappa said, “Even when Laxman Savadi lost the elections in 2018, he was made an MLC from the BJP and was elevated to the post of Deputy CM.”
“He also served on the core committee. He had a tenure of 5 years and 2 months as an MLC, he could have become the minister in the next term. I want to tell Savadi that his decision is a betrayal of the trust that the party had in him. The people will never forgive him,” Yediyurappa added.
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