Senior politician and former MLA from Bhalki Prakash Khandre quit the Janata Dal(S) and joined the BJP at an election rally in Basavakalyan, Bidar district, on Sunday. National general secretary of the BJP Arun Singh admitted him into the party by handing over the party’s flag to him in the presence of Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda, Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi, Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Housing Minister V. Somanna, Bidar Lok Sabha member Bhagwanth Khuba and other senior leaders.
As part of their strategy to strengthen the party ahead of the Basavakalyan byelections scheduled for April 17, senior BJP leaders, including Mr. Somanna, Mr. Savadi and Mr. Bommai, had held a series of meetings to rope in Mr. Prakash Khandre.
Seeing these developments, Janata Dal(S) Legislative Party leader H.D. Kumaraswamy also held meetings with Mr. Prakash Khandre to retain him in the party. However, his efforts went in vain. In 2018, Mr. Prakash Khandre quit the BJP after he was denied party ticket. He contested the elections on Janata Dal(S) ticket and miserably lost by receiving just 9.06% of the polled votes.
