Bengaluru: In a setback to BJP, BL Rani Samyukta, sister of Karnataka Tourism Minister Anand Singh, tendered her resignation to BJP and joined the Congress party in the presence of senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council BK Hariprasad at the KPCC office here on Saturday.
Rani Samyukta, who was a member of the BJP Rashtriya Mahila Morcha, had reportedly asked the high command to allocate a ticket to contest from the Vijayanagar Assembly constituency instead of her brother Anand Singh. But, Siddhartha Singh, son of BJP Anand Singh, has been allotted the BJP ticket. Upset with this, Sanyukta left the BJP and joined the Congress.
AICC general secretary in charge of communication, publicity, and media Jairam Ramesh said, "BJP leader BL Rani Samyukta joined the Congress party today. A hearty welcome to Samyukta. Many senior BJP leaders have joined the Congress. On May 10, the people of Karnataka will vote for a change. People of the state will support the Congress party to get rid of price rise, corruption and hate politics."
Speaking about joining Congress, Rani Samyukta said, "Today I left BJP and joined Congress party. I have been observing the Congress party for the past many days. No one has deserted that party, but the scenario in BJP is different. Many leaders have been deserting that party. Former CM Jagdish Shettar joined Congress before me. Many more will leave BJP and join Congress in the coming days."
On the day when the BJP announced its candidates' list, BL Rani expressed displeasure against the party. Accordingly, today she left the party and joined the Congress.
