Shankaralinge Gowda quits as legislator

Chamaraja MLA Shankaralinge Gowda submitted his resignation to his Assembly membership to Speaker K G Bopaiah on Saturday. However, Bopaiah is yet to accept the resignation.

The BJP has already lost 12 MLAs to the KJP headed by Yeddyurappa. Former minister Yogeeshwara resigned two days ago and the Speaker accepted his resignation.

Sources said the Speaker may accept Gowda’s resignation in a couple of days. The resignation of two more BJP MLAs - D S Suresh and Vittal Katakadonda - are pending with the Speaker. BJP MLA Raju Gouda too has made it clear that he will resign as member of the saffron party.

On Saturday, Deputy Chief Minister R Ashoka tried his best to convince Gowda to postpone his decision by at least a month. But his efforts yielded no result. The BJP’s strength has now been reduced to 104 in the Assembly.

Gowda has already announced that he will join the JD(S). He had been embarrassing the BJP as he was not made a minister despite winning four times from Chamaraja constituency in Mysore.

“Yeddyurappa did a lot of injustice to me. I had worked for three decades for the BJP. I built the party in Mysore. But none recognised my contribution to the party,” he told reporters after submitting his resignation.

He said the BJP government conducted ‘Operation Lotus’ and entertained outsiders at the cost of honest party workers. “It is better for the BJP MLAs to resign and look for their future in other parties,” he said.

CM confident

Despite many MLAs quitting the party, Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Saturday claimed that his government was safe and nobody could prevent it from completing its five-year term.

“Those who want to resign are free to do so. I am not bothered about it. There is no need to attach any importance to it. I was aware that Raju Gouda and Yogeeshwara would resign,” he told reporters at his home office ‘Krishna.’

“The party had given them enough opportunities. Yet, they are quitting. Hence, the party has decided not to make any effort to retain such leaders,” he said.

He accused the Congress of poaching the party MLAs to strengthen its position ahead of the crucial elections to the urban local bodies (ULBs) and the State Assembly.

The Congress fears that it will face a humiliating defeat in the ULB polls. So, it is wooing BJP MLAs. But the BJP has enough strength to face the polls and emerge victorious, he added.