BENGALURU: Former Congress MP of Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha constituency, K. Jayaprakash Hegde, is set to jump ship and join the BJP next month.
Mr. Hegde met state BJP president, B.S. Yeddyurappa, at the latter's residence along with former deputy chief minister, R. Ashoka, on Friday evening. Mr. Ashoka was instrumental in wooing Mr Hegde after the latter fell out with Congress leaders. His entry into BJP could bolster the party's prospects in coastal districts ahead of Assembly elections in 2018 as Mr Hegde holds sway over voters belonging to the Bunt community, sources in BJP told Deccan Chronicle.
BJP's Udupi-Chikkamagalur MP, Shobha Karandlaje, who has opposed Mr Hegde’s entry into BJP, skipped the evening's meeting. Held despite Ms Shobha’s dissent, it reflects, surprisingly, Mr Yeddyurappa's resolve to take decisions that are independent of close members of his coterie. In fact, he is reported to have pointed to a report published in Deccan Chronicle on Thursday about her resistance to Mr Hegde's migration to the BJP.
This evening, Mr Yeddyurappa invited Mr Hegde to join the BJP at the earliest. "Your arrival in our party will help strengthen its support base in Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts. Voters of both districts want you to join the BJP," Mr Yeddyurappa reportedly told the former MP, sources added, laying the groundwork for a BJP comeback.
