Former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar on Monday joined the Congress after resigning from the BJP in a huge setback to the ruling party that has already lost several disgruntled leaders, including a former deputy chief minister, in the run-up to the state polls.

Shettar severed his nearly four decades of association with the Sangh parivar that started off with the RSS when he walked into the state Congress headquarters here in the morning to sign up as a member.

The Congress lost no time in parading their catch of the season at a news conference attended by AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, state party chief D.K. Shivakumar, leader of the Opposition P.C. Siddaramaiah and AICC general secretary K.C. Venugopal among others.

Former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi had joined the Congress after the BJP denied him a ticket to contest from Athani in Belgaum. The Congress has since fielded him from Athani.

One of the most influential leaders from the Lingayat community after B.S. Yediyurappa, Shettar tore into the current crop of state BJP leaders and held them responsible for the ongoing attrition in the party.

“Some people were worried that I would be made the leader if I am elected as an MLA since I am the senior-most leader (in the BJP) after Yediyurappa, who has already retired (from electoral politics). So they did not want me to contest at all,” Shettar said without taking any names.

“I was shocked and hurt at the manner in which they told me I was not getting a ticket this time,” he said, retracing the developments that led to his decision to join the Congress.

“I was told over phone just two days before the filing of nominations (that started on April 13) that (K.S.) Eshwarappa and I won’t be getting tickets. They treated me like I was a kid by calling me up and telling me I am not going to be in the race,” he said.

Eshwarappa had immediately announced his “retirement” from electoral politics.

After BJP president J.P. Nadda failed to persuade Shettar to stay, chief minister Basavaraj Bommai and Union ministers Prahlad Joshi and Dharmendra Pradhan held discussions to prevent him from leaving the party by offering him alternatives such as a Rajya Sabha seat and a place in the Union cabinet.

However, Shettar argued that he was in the fight for pride, not power. “I am the one who said I didn’t want any cabinet berth after Bommai took over (in July 2021). So when they treat me in this manner, they don’t need me,” he said.

“In the end, I promised to resign six months after winning my seat this time. But they didn’t agree,” Shettar said about the BJP.