3 upset Cong MLAs quit, 2 more on their way out

Three sitting Congress MLAs have decided to quit the party for not giving them the tickets to contest the May 12 assembly polls.

While senior party MLA from Kittur and former minister D B Inamdar on Wednesday announced that he had resigned from the party membership of the party, Congress MLA from Ballari Rural constituency N Y Gopalakrishna will be joining the BJP on Thursday in the presence of the party's national president Amit Shah in Bengaluru.

The Congress has denied the ticket to Gopalakrishna. Instead, Nagendra has been fielded from Ballari Rural constituency. Similarly, sitting Congress MLA from Tarikere G H Srinivas, who has been denied the ticket, announced his decision to join the JD(S).

Inamdar, who is a five-time MLA from Kittur, is upset with the treatment meted out to him by the Congress. The party is yet to announce its candidate for Kittur.

Inamdar told DH over phone from Bengaluru that he had sent his resignation to the party higher-ups. “My seniority has not been considered. I am not a corrupt politician either. The treatment meted out to me by the party is not acceptable, hence I have quit the party.”

He said, he will reach Kittur on Thursday or Friday and hold meetings with his supporters to decide the next course of action. No other political party has approached him nor has he approached them, the legislator said. Based on the outcome of the meeting with the supporters, a decision will be taken, he added.

Former Congress MLA from Pulakeshinagar constituency, Bengaluru, Prasanna Kumar, is likely to join the JD(S) on Thursday. Besides, former Congress legislator from Nelamangala, Anjanamurthy, is planning to quit the party.