Channapatna by polls: 5-time BJP MLA CP Yogeshwar joins Congress party, likely to contest against BJP-JDS
After taking a complete U-turn, Yogeshwar met Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and a group of ministers at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru on Thursday.
Karnataka’s five-time MLA and former BJP minister CP Yogeshwar formally joined the Congress party on Thursday, ahead of Channapatna by polls which are scheduled on November 13. The Congress party will likely field Yogeshwar against the BJP-JDS candidate in this old Mysuru constituency.
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After taking a complete U-turn, Yogeshwar met Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah and a group of ministers at the latter’s residence in Bengaluru. The senior leader sought Siddaramaiah's blessings, hinting that the Congress would allot the B form to Yogeshwar.
Two days ago, Yogeshwar stressed that he would not want to join any party and wanted to contest polls on a BJP ticket. HD Kumaraswamy also said that the senior BJP leaders are requesting him to allot the Channapatna ticket to Yogeshwar, who was defeated by the former in the 2023 assembly elections.
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Kumaraswamy told reporters, “A few days ago, JP Nadda presented a proposal to me and asked to give the B form from the JD(S) party to Yogeshwar. We had decided to respect his words. I also discussed this matter on the party platform.” However, Yogeshwar’s decision to join the Congress party has raised questions about who will be the opposition’s candidate in Channapatna.
It is now speculated that Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil Kumaraswamy, who lost multiple elections, might contest from the Channapatna seat, which was vacated by the union minister and JDS second-in-chief. However, the party said that the decision will be taken after consulting former prime minister HD Devegowda.
Nikhil Kumaraswamy, a former actor, contested the 2019 Lok Sabha election from Mandya district but lost to fellow thespian Sumalatha Ambareesh, who contested as an independent candidate.
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, he contested from Ramanagara constituency - the seat his mother Anitha Kumaraswamy won in 2018. He lost that seat too - to the Congress' HA Iqbal Hussain by nearly 8,000 votes.