Samajwadi Party’s (SP) lone MLA in the State C.P. Yogeshwar rejoined the Congress in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president G. Parameshwara at the party office here on Tuesday.
Mr. Yogeshwar, who began his political career with the Congress, quit the party in 2008 and joined the BJP after B.S. Yeddyurappa became the Chief Minister. One of the early catches of the BJP’s widely criticised ‘Operation Lotus’, Mr. Yogeshwar contested the byelection on BJP ticket and got elected. He was rewarded with a Cabinet berth.
Re-elected
He, however, quit the BJP on the eve of the 2013 Assembly elections and joined the SP. Mr. Yogeshwar, who is also a film actor, contested from the SP and got re-elected from the Channapatna Assembly constituency. Dr. Parameshwara said that with Mr. Yogeshwar’s return to the party fold, the Congress’ position would be strengthened in Bangalore Rural, Ramanagaram, Kolar, Mandya, Mysore and Tumkur districts.
Despite their earlier differences, Energy Minister D.K. Shivakumar welcomed Mr. Yogeshwar to the party and said his return would help his brother D.K. Suresh — who is contesting the Lok Sabha election from Bangalore Rural — improve his electoral performance.
