Shankar Patil Munenakoppa.
Credit: DH File Photo
Amid speculation of his switch to Congress, BJP leader Shankar Patil Munenakoppa clarified on Monday he is still in BJP and no one from the grand old party has approached him.
“No Congress leader, including AICC chief Mallikarjun Kharge, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, has approached me with an offer to join the party. For now, I am in the BJP. I will take an appropriate decision in this regard after consulting my supporters and well-wishers, after January,” Munenakoppa told reporters here.
“I don’t have plans to contest Lok Sabha polls. I will continue as a BJP worker. However, I will not be able to attend BJP meetings till November for personal reasons. I have informed the party leadership about the same,” the former two-time Navalgund MLA said.
Munenakoppa, however, expressed his displeasure over the recent developments in the state BJP.
“Upset over the BJP state unit’s style of functioning, several senior BJP leaders, including Jagadish Shettar, have quit the party. I am hurt by these developments,” Munenakoppa, a close aide of Shettar, said.