The suspense over former minister C.P. Yogeshwar’s decision regarding the Channapatna bypolls ended with the five-time MLA quitting the BJP to join the ruling Congress today.
“I had started my political career in the Congress under D.K. Shivakumar’s leadership. Sometimes, you cannot live in the house that you built. After the BJP entered an alliance with the JD(S), I felt that the environment was no longer conducive for my growth,” said Yogeshwar, who joined the party at the KPCC office in Bengaluru.
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“I met D.K. Shivakumar at his residence this morning and there is no need for me to be secretive. D.K. Suresh (former MP and Shivakumar's brother) made me speak to party president Mallikarjun Kharge, who gave me his blessings. My intention is to develop the district. I have observed how the D.K. Shivakumar and Suresh have taken up initiatives for the development of the district and I just want to be a partner in development.”
ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಸಿ.ಪಿ ಯೋಗೇಶ್ವರ್ ಅವರು ಕೆಪಿಸಿಸಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರು ಹಾಗೂ ಡಿಸಿಎಂ @DKShivakumar ಹಾಗೂ ಮಾಜಿ ಸಂಸದರಾದ @DKSureshINC ಅವರೊಂದಿಗೆ ಸಿಎಂ @siddaramaiah ಅವರನ್ನು ಕಾವೇರಿ ನಿವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಮಾತುಕತೆ ನಡೆಸಿದರು. ಸಚಿವರಾದ @BZZameerAhmedK, ಶಿವರಾಜ್ ತಂಗಡಗಿ, ಶಾಸಕರಾದ ಕದಲೂರು ಉದಯ್, ಪೊನ್ನಣ್ಣ, @Dr_Yathindra_S… pic.twitter.com/Y6nGSmLFYB
— Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) October 23, 2024
A party-hopper who has contested polls on different party symbols, including Congress, SP and BJP, Yogeshwar declined to contest as the NDA candidate on a JD(S) ticket, after the BJP central leadership made it clear that the seat belonged to its ally as the seat was vacated by Union Minister and JD(S) state president H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Kumaraswamy, who was hoping to field his son Nikhil, had yielded to the BJP’s demand to field Yogeshwar as the JD(S) candidate to honour the NDA alliance. But, the sudden turn of events, with Yogeshwar quitting as the MLC and the BJP, has left the regional party hunting for a suitable candidate who can take on the Congress.
Winning Channapatna is crucial for all three political parties as it is in the Vokkaliga heartland, and like Kumaraswamy and Yogeshwar, the DK brothers—KPCC chief and deputy chief minister Shivakumar and Suresh, who failed to retain the Bengaluru rural seat in the Lok Sabha polls—have taken it up as a challenge to win the seat to prove their popularity in the community.
In 2023, Kumaraswamy had defeated BJP’s Yogeshwar by 16,000 votes and is now trying hard to hold on to the seat. However, the Congress wants to win Channapatna, as it is the only assembly seat in Ramanagara district that the Congress party failed to win when the party captured the state by wresting 136 seats (in the 224-member House) in May 2023. The DK brothers are trying to restablish their dominance in the district by winning Channapatna in the bypolls.
A day after Kumaraswamy allaged that Yogeshwar was “in touch” with the Congress leaders, the latter joined the Congress in the presence of the DK brothers, Ramanagara district incharge minister Ramalinga Reddy and minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and a host of Yogeshwar’s supporters, to send a strong message to the NDA and also the voters in the constituency that is dominated by Vokkaligas and minorities.
Shivakumar welcomed Yogeshwar into the party fold, saying, “He was in the Congress earlier. He has joined the party unconditionally. I have recommended his candidature for Channapatna to the high command. The Congress nominee will be filing the nomination tomorrow morning.”
The BJP, which was in a state of shock, said that Yogeshwar's departure would not make any difference.
Leader of opposition and BJP MLA R. Ashok said, “Yogeshwar did not join the BJP based on ideology. This will not impact the party like it would have affected when a loyal party worker quits. The BJP votes will remain intact in Channapatna. Yogeshwar was with us for the last 10 years. We did make efforts to retain him. But, Yogeshwar was in touch with several parties. And today, he has quit the party.”
Ashok added that the party had made every effort to give Yogeshwar the opportunity to contest. “The BJP leadership was clear that the Channapatna seat belonged to the JD(S) and accordingly, Kumaraswamy offered to field Yogeshwar from JD(S). But he declined the offer and is now hoping to contest on a Congress ticket. This is betrayal. All the BJP leaders had supported his candidature as the NDA candidate. After the alliance, there is no difference between JD(S) and BJP. He had seniority in the BJP, which he has lost. He has spoilt his political career. D.K. Shivakumar will not let Yogeshwar grow. We had an inkling that he would quit and he has betrayed all our trust. BJP will support any candidate fielded by JD(S) in Channapatna. The alliance worked well in Kolar and Bengaluru Rural.”
