Hoskote’s independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda has decided to join the Congress, a move he hopes will propel his burgeoning political career.
“I’m looking to identify with a national party so that I can take up issues that aren’t just related to Hoskote, but with a broader spectrum,” Sharath told DH.
Late on Wednesday night, Sharath met Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D K Shivakumar. Sharath said he expects to join the Congress “sometime in the new year”.
Sharath, 37, is the son of BJP’s Chikballapur MP B N Bachegowda. The BJP expelled Sharath last year after he rebelled and contested the December 2019 bypolls, which he won as an independent by defeating the party’s candidate MTB Nagaraj.
Before that, Sharath had contested the 2018 Assembly election as the BJP candidate, but lost against Nagaraj who was then with the Congress.
With Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa backing Nagaraj, who might go on to become a minister in his Cabinet, Sharath is looking to secure his own future.
For the Congress, onboarding Sharath will give the party a face to bank on in the Hoskote constituency. For long, Hoskote was seen as the pocket borough of Sharath’s father Bachegowda who represented the segment ever since he was with the Janata Dal 1994 onward. Congress’s Nagaraj (now with BJP) managed to infiltrate the constituency for the first time in 2004. The sizeable Muslim population of Hoskote could work in Sharath’s favour if he joins the Congress.
Sharath is already working with the Congress for the upcoming gram panchayat polls.