Yogeeshwara quits BJP, to join Cong; likely to get Channapatana by-poll ticket

Bengaluru: BJP leader C P Yogeeshwara, who recently resigned as the Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, will join the Congress on Wednesday, the party said.

He is expected to be fielded as the Congress' candidate for the November 13 Assembly by-poll from Channapatna segment, party sources said.

The former minister met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, after resigning from the primary membership of the BJP, earlier in the day.

Yogeeshwara on Monday resigned as MLC, submitting his resignation to the Legislative Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti in Hubballi, making it clear that he would contest the by-poll.

Channapatna will go for by-polls along with Sandur and Shiggaon Assembly segments. The last date for filing nominations is October 25, and the final date for withdrawal of papers is October 30.

Channapatna bypoll is necessitated as the seat fell vacant following the election of its representative -- JD(S) state President and now Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy -- to Lok Sabha from Mandya parliamentary segment.

With the BJP ceding Channapatana seat to alliance partner JD(S), Yogeeshwara, the actor-turned-politician, had appealed to the coalition leaders to consider giving him a ticket from the saffron party. He had also said that he had plans to contest as an independent on not getting a ticket.

There were plans to field Yogeeshwara on a JD(S) ticket, but he was not interested in it, and instead wanted Kumaraswamy to support him as a BJP candidate, which was not acceptable to the latter and his party.