<p>Seven-time legislator R Roshan Baig seems to have decided against contesting the bypolls from Shivajinagar, leaving a question mark on his political future. </p>.<p>Baig, the Congress rebel who has been disqualified, was hoping to be inducted into the BJP along with 16 other disqualified rebel MLAs who helped the BJP come to power. Baig also expected the BJP ticket to contest the bypolls from his Shivajinagar constituency. But he was neither inducted nor given the ticket.</p>.<p>While it was widely believed that Baig may contest as an independent, the former minister did not file his nomination on Monday, which was the last date to do so. </p>.<p>In a Facebook post that read like a farewell message, Baig thanked “everybody who supported me over the last 4 decades during my career as a representative of Shivajinagar.” The post came after a meeting with supporters and well-wishers.</p>.<p>He further wrote: “My relationship with Shivajinagar Assembly Constituency goes beyond politics, it's an area that I was born and bred in and I look at constituents of Shivajinagar as my family. I started as an area boy and got to be involved in the area as a significant stakeholder for more than 40 long years. I'll forever be indebted for the love, compassion and solidarity that I've received from people of Shivajinagar over the years. Politicians and leaders might change but my love and affection for all of you will always remain the same and I, Roshan Baig, will always be at your service.” </p>.<p><strong>Cong tries to get Baig’s camp</strong></p>.<p>The Congress convened a meeting Monday after MLC Rizwan Arshad, who is contesting from Shivajinagar, found no support from the constituency’s leaders, including councillors, while he filed his nomination. The party roped in senior leader Ramalinga Reddy to take stock of the situation. </p>.<p>“Some leaders who are close of Baig have some issues,” Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao told DH. “Now, Baig's political career is at stake. We don't know what his future is. He left us, went to the BJP and today he's nowhere in the elections. A lot of his people are having second thoughts and want to return to the Cong. So, we're discussing,” he said.</p>
<p>Seven-time legislator R Roshan Baig seems to have decided against contesting the bypolls from Shivajinagar, leaving a question mark on his political future. </p>.<p>Baig, the Congress rebel who has been disqualified, was hoping to be inducted into the BJP along with 16 other disqualified rebel MLAs who helped the BJP come to power. Baig also expected the BJP ticket to contest the bypolls from his Shivajinagar constituency. But he was neither inducted nor given the ticket.</p>.<p>While it was widely believed that Baig may contest as an independent, the former minister did not file his nomination on Monday, which was the last date to do so. </p>.<p>In a Facebook post that read like a farewell message, Baig thanked “everybody who supported me over the last 4 decades during my career as a representative of Shivajinagar.” The post came after a meeting with supporters and well-wishers.</p>.<p>He further wrote: “My relationship with Shivajinagar Assembly Constituency goes beyond politics, it's an area that I was born and bred in and I look at constituents of Shivajinagar as my family. I started as an area boy and got to be involved in the area as a significant stakeholder for more than 40 long years. I'll forever be indebted for the love, compassion and solidarity that I've received from people of Shivajinagar over the years. Politicians and leaders might change but my love and affection for all of you will always remain the same and I, Roshan Baig, will always be at your service.” </p>.<p><strong>Cong tries to get Baig’s camp</strong></p>.<p>The Congress convened a meeting Monday after MLC Rizwan Arshad, who is contesting from Shivajinagar, found no support from the constituency’s leaders, including councillors, while he filed his nomination. The party roped in senior leader Ramalinga Reddy to take stock of the situation. </p>.<p>“Some leaders who are close of Baig have some issues,” Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president Dinesh Gundu Rao told DH. “Now, Baig's political career is at stake. We don't know what his future is. He left us, went to the BJP and today he's nowhere in the elections. A lot of his people are having second thoughts and want to return to the Cong. So, we're discussing,” he said.</p>
