NEW DELHI: Former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar, who had quit the BJP to join the Congress ahead of the state assembly polls last year, rejoined his old party on Thursday, reposing faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Shettar cited his long association with the BJP, and said many of his well-wishers including party workers and leaders wanted him to be back.
Former Karnataka CM Shri @JagadishShettar joins BJP at party headquarters in New Delhi. #JoinBJP https://t.co/inNAusZgeC
— BJP (@BJP4India) January 25, 2024
The Lingayat leader joined the party here in the presence of former Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa, Union ministers Bhupender Yadav and Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Karnataka BJP president B Y Vijayendra and its media head Anil Baluni.
”I am rejoining the BJP. The BJP had earlier given me a lot of responsibilities. But I went to the Congress because of some other issues,” Shettar told reporters after his formal reinduction into the BJP at its headquarters here.
”After that event, there has been a lot of discussion in the BJP in the last 8-9 months. Even BJP workers on the ground, leaders – everybody – asked me to come back whenever they met me on various occasions,” he said.
”Even our leader Yediyurappa, state president Vijayendra and national leaders wanted me to come back to the BJP,” Shettar said, adding, ”Accordingly, with our workers wanting, I am rejoining the BJP”.
He said Prime Minister Modi has done ”a lot of things” to strengthen the country. Under Modi’s leadership, India has emerged as ”a very powerful country” in the world.
”So, with faith in Narendra Modi’s leadership, I am rejoining the BJP to strengthen the party. Narendra Modi ji has to become Prime Minister again,” Shettar added.
Welcoming him back to the party fold, senior BJP leader and Union minister Bhupender Yadav said Shettar wanted to return as the party is continuously carrying forward India’s development journey and ”establishment of Ram Rajya” under Prime Minister Modi’s leadership.
”Our top leadership also approved it (Shettar’s return to BJP)”,Yadav told reporters ”We believe that he will once again use his organisational and administrative capabilities in serving the party and work as party worker for the expansion of the organisation in Karnataka,” the minister added.
Party sources said Shettar had met Home Minister Amit Shah and its national president J P Nadda as he was persuaded to rejoin the saffron organisation which he had quit in a huff after being denied a ticket to contest the assembly polls.
He had then joined the Congress but lost the polls. The Congress has, however, made him a MLC, a position he has now quit to join the BJP.
Shettar also praised Prime Minister Modi’s leadership, saying India has been strengthened under him.
Source: Press Trust of India
