Amid allegations that the BJP is trying to poach Congress legislators to bring down the coalition government, Water Resources Minister and Congress strongman D.K. Shivakumar welcomed BJP workers in Channapatna to join his party. Channapatna in Ramanagaram district — of which Mr. Shivakumar is the in charge Minister — is represented by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy in the Assembly.
“Many BJP workers and leaders in the taluk have told me they are upset with the self-interested politics of BJP leaders. They have also expressed interest to join the Congress. Those who believe in the Congress’ ideology and are ready to join the party are welcome to join it any day,” he said in a statement.
It may be recalled that the BJP poached a Congress leader, L. Chandrashekar, and made him its candidate for the byelection to the Assembly from Ramanagaram. Days before the polling in November, however, Mr. Chandrashekar switched back to the Congress and addressed a press conference with MP for Bengaluru Rural D.K. Suresh.
