BJP rebel Raju Kage to join Cong, to contest bypoll

The ruling BJP faced another setback, going into the December 5 bypolls, with former MLA Bharamgouda (Raju) Kage announcing Monday his decision to join the Congress.

Kage is upset over the BJP backing disqualified Congress legislator Shrimanth Patil from Kagwad constituency. Kage lost to Patil in the May 2018 Assembly polls.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa said that Kage’s exit will have little impact on the BJP’s prospects in the bypolls. He said the BJP will win 12 out of the 15 seats.

Kage, who met Congress leader Siddaramaiah in the city, said that he would join the Congress on November 13 and file nominations to contest from the party on November 18.

Speaking to reporters, Kage said that he was hurt by the remarks Yediyurappa made in a leaked video recently. “The comments were made when party workers where backing my candidature. That hurt me immensely, due to which I have decided to quit the party,” Kage said.

In the video, Yediyurappa is heard lambasting BJP workers from Kagwad for backing Kage “who had lost by more than 30,000 votes.”

Kage, who had won three consecutive elections (2004, 2008 and 2013) from Kagwad, said that after having won thrice, the BJP leaders now want me to campaign for Patil. “I refused to do so as I won’t be able to contest elections after this bypoll,” Kage said.

Yediyurappa said that it was common for people to shift camps from one party to another ahead of polls. “People from their party will join our ranks and vice versa. Ultimately, we will have to wait and watch (for results). However, I am confident that we will win more than 12 seats,” he said.

Prior to Kage’s move, another BJP leader, Sharath Bachegowda has threatened to rebel by contesting as an independent from Hoskote, where the BJP is backing Congress’ disqualified MLA MTB Nagaraj.

The December 5 bypolls are critical for the BJP as it needs to win at least 7-8 seats in order to ensure a majority in the Assembly.