45 turncoats join Congress in Karnataka; here's what the party has planned for them

“There is a huge demand from leaders in the BJP and JD-S to join the Congress. But we are being selective and taking only those people who share the Congress values and will go with our policies. Some of these leaders will get tickets and some will work for the party,” senior state leader Prakash Rathod told ETV Bharat's Amit Agnihotri.

New Delhi: Similar to how BJP rewarded them, turncoats who joined Congress in the last few weeks will be given tickets for the upcoming Karnataka assembly polls. The Congress on Sunday said that over 45 leaders from both BJP and JD-S joining Congress over the past weeks was an indication of which way the wind was blowing in Karnataka. Polls for the 224 assembly seats in the southern state would take place on May 10. The results would be out on May 13.

“There is a huge demand from leaders in the BJP and JD-S to join the Congress. But we are being selective and taking only those people who share the Congress values and will go with our policies. Some of these leaders will get tickets and some will work for the party,” senior state leader Prakash Rathod told ETV Bharat.

“It shows the trend in Karnataka. Most recent surveys have shown that Congress has an edge and will form the government comfortably. Our lead is going to increase because of the unrest and disappointment in the BJP cadre. Many BJP leaders from Mangalore and Belgaum are in line to join the Congress,” he said.

According to Congress spokesperson Prof Gourav Vallabh, over the past weeks 45 leaders, including 23 from BJP, 19 from JD-S, and 3 Independents joined the grand old party in Karnataka. Out of these, there are 6 MLAs, including 1 from BJP, 3 from JD-S, 2 Independents. Among the 2 MLCs, both belong to BJP. Among the ex-MLAs, 4 are from BJP, and 7 from JD-S. Among the ex-MLCs, 1 is from BJP, and 4 from JD-S.

One ex-MP who joined Congress is from the BJP. Besides these lawmakers, 20 other senior leaders from the two rival parties have also joined the Congress of late, Prof Vallabh said. The latest to join the Congress was BJP leader and ex-deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi while former chief minister Jagdish Shettar may follow suit.

BJP has dropped several old-timers and introduced 52 new faces while rewarding turncoats, a move that has triggered infighting in the saffron party. Referring to it, Prof Vallabh said that while the Congress was giving tickets to candidates who wanted to contest the polls, the BJP was giving tickets to those who do not want to fight the elections. “We are expecting more BJP and JD-S leaders. There is huge infighting in the BJP,” senior state Congress leader BK Hari Prasad said when asked about the pendency of around 17 candidates from the grand old party.

All three Congress leaders said corruption in the state government was the biggest issue affecting the Karnataka voters. “One of their ministers was caught taking a bribe. The contractors’ association alleged a 40 percent commission for all government contracts. The people have made up their minds,” said Rathod.

The Congress leaders alleged that the JD-S was hand in glove with the BJP. “JD-S is the B team of BJP. The BJP has encouraged parties like JD-S, AAP and AIMIM in states to split the Congress votes,” said Rathod. “In 2018, we backed the JD-S as we did not want the BJP to come to power. But the BJP came back to power in 2019 through Operation Lotus when they brought down an elected JD-S-Congress government. They don’t value the Constitution,” he added.