Former member of the Lok Sabha from Tumakuru and two-term MLA, SP Muddahanumegowda, on Thursday said that he had decided to leave the Congress, as he is “unhappy with the way the national party has treated him over the last few years.”
“I met Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, DK Shivakumar and CLP (Congress legislature party) leader Siddaramaiah and asked to be relieved from the party,” Muddahanumegowda said on Thursday.
He said that he had “strong reason” to leave the party.“He (Muddhahanumegowda) met and discussed issues with us. There is nothing wrong in him wishing (for a seat). He has informed us of his decision. I cannot divulge what we spoke publicly,” Shivakumar said on Thursday.
“I have analysed everything and made this decision because of inevitable circumstances,” he said, adding that he has been forced to miss the opportunity to contest elections at least four times since 1989.
“In the last 30 years, from 1989 to 2019, the people of Tumakuru know the conditions that I have faced and how they (Congress) kept me away from elections,” he said.
There is a strong buzz that the former MP is likely to switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
{{/usCountry}}There is a strong buzz that the former MP is likely to switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
{{/usCountry}}He also fears that he will not get a ticket from the Congress to contest from Kunigal as Shivakumar’s relative, Dr HD Ranganath is the incumbent MLA from the constituency, a person in the know of the matter said. “Today I have made this decision and from now on, all options will be open,” he said, adding that he will “definitely contest” the 2023 assembly elections from Kunigal, his home seat.
One of the top performing MP’s, Mudhanumegowda, many party insiders believed, would have retained his seat in 2019 Lok Sabha elections. But he was asked to step down to accommodate the candidature of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda when the Congress allied with the Janata Dal (Secular) or JD(S).
He was again overlooked by the central leadership in the May Rajya Sabha elections in which Jairam Ramesh was given an opportunity despite the opposition from the state unit of the party.