H D Kumaraswamy.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Bengaluru: The return of former CM Jagadish Shettar to the BJP fold may just be the beginning of more leaders heading back to the saffron party.
Former minister Gali Janardhana Reddy (GJR), founder of Kalyana Rajya Pragathi Paksha, is likely to rejoin BJP soon.
Reddy quit BJP towards end of 2022 and formed his own outfit. He had announced that his party will field candidates in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in at least five constituencies.
After the BJP-JD(S) alliance, JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy had told BJP leaders in Delhi that they should think about bringing back those who quit the party.
BJP sources told DH that Kumaraswamy played a major role in bringing back Shettar to the party and he might do so in Reddy’s case as well.
“Kumaraswamy and Reddy had discussions before the former left for Ayodhya. During the discussions, Reddy seemed convinced and he will officially join BJP soon,” said sources in JD(S).
The former chief minister had made it clear to the BJP high command that leaders like Shettar and Reddy had the capacity to divide BJP’s votes.
“If Reddy fields candidates from his party, he will definitely eat into BJP’s votes, which will benefit Congress in those constituencies,” Kumaraswamy is said to have told the BJP top brass. Reddy had won from Gangavati in Koppal district in last year’s Assembly elections and the BJP candidate, the sitting MLA, came third.
There are reports that another legislator Laxman Savadi, who switched from BJP to Congress ahead of the Assembly elections, is all set to be back in the saffron party. The Congress, on its part, is planning a reverse operation to bring back leaders who quit the party and joined BJP. They include S T Somashekar, Shivaram Hebbar and Munirathna.