Karnataka ex-deputy CM Laxman Savadi joins Congress after being denied ticket

Former Karnataka deputy CM Laxman Savadi on Friday joined the Congress after holding a meeting with party leaders DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah.

Former Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi on Friday joined the Congress party barely two days after resigning from the Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) after being denied a ticket in the upcoming assembly polls in the southern state.

KPCC President D K Shivakumar and AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala meet with BJP senior leader and former Deputy CM Laxman Savadi, in Bengaluru.(PTI)

He had earlier held a meeting with senior Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah at the latter's residence. The upcoming assembly poll in the southern state is due to be held on May 10, for which counting will be on May 13.

READ | Former deputy CM Laxman Savadi resigns from BJP after being denied ticket

KPCC chief D K Shivakumar addressed the media on Friday and confirmed that Savadi has joined the grand old party. The former BJP leader was eyeing the Athani assembly constituency seat, but was passed over for sitting MLA Mahesh Kumathalli.

“There is no condition. He feels that he has been humiliated. It is our duty to take such great leaders into the Congress Party. There are more than 9-10 sitting MLAs who want to join us but we don't have space to accommodate them,” D K Shivakumar said upon the former BJP leader's entry in to the Congress.

READ | Karnataka polls: BJP denies ticket to seven sitting MLAs in second list; Protests continue

Savadi had resigned from the BJP and as the Legislative Council member of the party on Wednesday, saying that he is a “self-respecting politician” and that he would not go around with a “begging bowl”. “I have made my decision. I am not the one who goes around with a begging bowl. I am a self-respecting politician. I am not acting under the influence of anyone,” he told reporters on Wednesday.

This comes amid a brewing discontent among many party workers and leaders after the BJP left out seven sitting MLAs from its second candidates list, to “make way for fresh faces”. The party fielded 52 new names in the first list, including even those who jumped ship recently from its rivals.

Apart from Savadi, six-time MLA S Angara from Sullia constituency, BJP MLC R Shankar, Mudigere BJP MLA M P Kumaraswamy and MLA Goolihatti Shekhar are some of the leaders who have quit the party on being denied tickets.