The Bharatiya Janata Party received a shot in the arm with nearly 8,000 workers of the Janata Dal(S) from Gokak taluk, led by their former State general secretary and former district president Ashok Pujari, formally joining the party here on Tuesday.
The district unit of the BJP organised a function to welcome the workers in the presence of State unit president and MP Pralhad Joshi, the former Chief Minister and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly Jagadish Shettar and party’s legislators. Umesh V. Katti, MLA, was conspicuous by his absence.
Overwhelmed with the development at a time when the party recorded a dismal performance in the recently held elections to the Legislative Council from the local bodies constituencies, Mr. Shettar and the other leaders said that the development was a clear indication of the revival of the BJP in the State.
Mr. Joshi likened the politically-dominant Jarkiholi family, whose members hold sway in Gokak taluk, to rats glorified as cats. Mr. Pujari’s move to join the BJP would soon change the political situation in the taluk. Mr. Pujari has led several agitations during his more than two decades of struggle on various issues in the district and north Karnataka.
The former Minister Laxman Savadi said that Mr. Pujari would have been a MLA twice had he joined the BJP 10 years ago. The former Minister M.P. Renukacharya, Suresh C. Angadi, MP, Rajya Sabha member Prabhakar Kore and BJP district president Eranna Kadadi spoke.
Mr. Pujari clarified that his joining BJP was purely under pressure from workers, even as he continued to hold the same respect for Janata Dal(S) president H.D. Deve Gowda and the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumarswamy.
Mr. Pujari also announced that he would organise a workers conference in Gokak soon.
