Former Minister M. Shivanna, popularly known as Kote Shivanna, will be joining the Congress at a party function scheduled to be held in Mysuru on Wednesday.
Mysuru district Congress president B.J. Vijaykumar said Mr. Shivanna will be quitting the BJP and joining the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar along with his large number of supporters at a function to be held at the Congress office on Wednesday.
Mr. Shivanna, who earlier served as the Minister of State for Finance in the Congress government led by S.M. Krishna, had been associated with the BJP for the last few years. After serving as the Chairman of the Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karmacharis during the BJP regime, he was an aspirant for the Chamarajanagar (Reserved) Lok Sabha ticket.
After the BJP announced Mr. Balaraj as its nominee for Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha constituency, Mr. Shivanna had met Mr. Siddaramaiah in Mysuru.
Mr. Shivanna will be joining the party with his supporters at the convention of Congress workers of Chamaraja, Narasimharaja, Krishnaraja and Chamundeshwari Assembly constituencies scheduled to be held at the Congress office in Mysuru on Wednesday afternoon.
It may also be mentioned here that former Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) Chairman H.V. Rajeev, former Mayor Bhyrappa and former councillor K.V. Mallesh are also formally joining the Congress at a separate function in the city on Wednesday morning.
Apart from Mr. Siddaramaiah and Mr. Shivakumar, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Dinesh Gundu Rao is also scheduled to attend the function organised to mark the entry of Mr. Rajeev, Mr. Bhyrappa and Mr. Mallesh into the party fold.
Congress leaders claim that the entry of leaders from BJP and JD (S) into the party ahead of the Lok Sabha elections is expected give the party a boost at a time when its candidate M. Lakshmana is facing BJP’s Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar of the erstwhile royal family of Mysuru.
