Former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar resigned from the Assembly on Sunday in a big jolt to the ruling BJP that has been struggling to stop the outflow of disgruntled leaders seeking greener pastures in the Congress and the Janata Dal Secular before the state polls.
Over the past few days, the BJP had held discussions with Shettar to persuade him not to leave the party and even offered a compromise formula of a berth in the Union cabinet via the Rajya Sabha. Shettar, however, rejected the offer and submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.
The decision came after Shettar had set several deadlines on Saturday as he waited for the BJP to give him the ticket to contest from Hubli-Dharwad Central from where he has won six times.
Chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan had met Shettar over the last two days at his home in Hubli. Veteran leader B.S. Yediyurappa, too, spoke to Shettar several times over phone to pacify him.
What apparently hurt Shettar the most was the fact that he was not informed about the decision to replace him until the last moment.
The latest, and perhaps the most impactful, exit from the BJP comes two days after former deputy chief minister and member of the Legislative Council Laxman Savadi joined the Congress.
Sources close to Shettar said he was in touch with senior Congress leaders, especially those from the Lingayat community, about a possible switch in a day or two.
Yediyurappa hurriedly called a media conference in Bangalore where he slammed Shettar for deserting the party at such a crucial juncture and reminded him about the respect he enjoyed in the BJP.
“This is an unforgivable mistake. What wrong did we do to Shettar? He has been given all possible positions. No one will forgive him for the way he harmed the party with this decision,” Yediyurappa said.
“Shettar was made the state party president, leader of the Opposition, minister and then chief minister. Let him remember all that,” he added.
Yediyurappa said Pradhan and Joshi had offered Shettar a seat in the Rajya Sabha and a berth in the Union cabinet. “But he was adamant about going and joining hands with the Congress,” he said. “This is an unforgivable treachery. What wrong did we do to Shettar? No one will forgive him for this.”
Shettar retorted by questioning what made Yediyurappa quit the BJP and form the Karnataka Janata Paksha in 2011.
“Why did he leave the BJP and form the KJP? Before that, even he was given all respect and positions. So let’s not go there,” Shettar shot back.
Yediyurappa had formed a breakaway party that turned out to be a spoiler for the BJP in the 2013 state polls that the Congress won. Yediyurappa returned to the BJP just ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls.
Yediyurappa, however, said the party would welcome both Shettar and Savadi back if they realised their mistake. “We will welcome them back if they come back realising their mistake. And they will be accorded the same respect.”
Congress sources said Shettar was in touch with leaders including Shamanur Shivashankarappa. Since the two leaders are related, the Congress found Shivashankarappa the right person to negotiate with Shettar.
