M.D. Laxminarayan, MLC and a former supporter of B.S. Yeddyurappa, said here on Thursday that the former Chief Minister was ready to join the Congress three months ago.
Mr. Laxminarayan, who joined the Congress on Wednesday, told presspersons here that Mr. Yeddyurappa was ready to join the Congress under the leadership of MP G.S. Basavaraj after the Karnataka Janata Paksha failed to get the expected number of seats in the 2013 Assembly elections.
While Mr. Yeddyurappa is the BJP candidate for the Shimoga constituency, Mr. Basavaraj is the party candidate for Tumkur.
Mr. Laxminarayan said Mr. Yeddyurappa made a big mistake by rejoining the BJP and he would meet the same fate as that of leaders such as Uma Bharti and Kalyan Singh.
On BJP’s claim of a wave in favour of its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi, Mr. Laxminarayan said, “Modi wave will remain just a wave and will not get converted into votes for the BJP.”
Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra said the Congress would win 20 Lok Sabha seats in the State. He, however, said, the election was not a referendum on the State government.
He said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would continue in the post even after the Lok Sabha elections and there should be no doubt about it.
District unit Congress president Shafi Ahmed, legislator Rafiq Ahmed, party candidate for the Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency S.P. Muddahanume Gowda, and the former MLA H. Ningappa were present.
