KALABURAGI: “I would prefer to quit politics rather than compromise with Malikayya Guttedar and go to the Upper House as an alternative. I will bid goodbye to the BJP and contest from any party or as an independent”, said Mr M.Y. Patil, who was tipped to be the BJP candidate from Afzalpur, while reacting to the move by the BJP to replace him with senior Congress leader Malikayya Guttedar.
Mr Patil held a meeting with his supporters in the wake of the BJP’s decision to admit senior Congress leader and six-time legislator Mr Guttedar into the party. Speaking at the meeting, he made a scathing attack on state BJP president B.S. Yeddyurappa charging him with betraying him. “Following the instruction given by Yeddyurappa, I contested on the KJP ticket in 2013 and lost. But I built the party and won almost all ZP, TP and Town Panchayat seats in the taluk. But unfortunately, the BJP has decided to field Mr Guttedar, who is the don of the sand mafia”, Mr Patil alleged. Speaking to this paper, he said there was pressure on him to join the Congress. “I will take a final decision after another round of consultation”, he added.
Earlier in the day, Mr Patil, who has been fighting against Mr Guttedar since the latter entered politics in 1985, said that he was quite upset with the BJP’s decision to admit Mr Guttedar. “Sometime back, Mr Yeddyurappa asked me if I had any objection to Mr Guttedar joining the BJP. I told him that if it would help party prospects in the Assembly elections, I had no objection. I however put forward the condition that the ticket for the Afzalpur seat should be given to me. Now Mr Guttedar is going round declaring that he will be the BJP candidate which has hurt me a lot”, he added.
Meanwhile Mr Guttedar has decided to tender his resignation from the MLA post on Tuesday. “I will meet the Speaker tomorrow and tender my resignation. Thereafter I will join the BJP”, he said adding that his aim was not only win to win atleast four seats for the BJP in the district, but also defeat Minister for IT & BT Priyank Kharge in Chittapur constituency.
