2 BJP leaders quit & join Congress in poll due MP & Karnataka

Bhopal/Bengaluru: In Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, one BJP leader each quit the party and joined Congress, giving a setback to the national party since Assembly Elections are due in both states this year, PTI reported.

In Bhopal, former zila panchayat chairman Rao Yadvendra Singh Yadav joined Congress on Wednesday, while Karnataka legislative council, BJP legislator Baburao Chinchansur also did the same.

In Madhya Pradesh, Yadav was welcomed by state Congress Committee president and former chief minister Kamal Nath in the presence of senior party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh.

Kamal Nath said, "It is a matter of happiness that Yadav decided to join Congress without any inducement and pressure and to secure the future of Madhya Pradesh."

Karnataka BJP witnessed another resignation two weeks ago only, after BJP legislator Puttanna left the party and joined Congress.

Chinchansur, who left the saffron yesterday, had played a crucial role in defeating Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge from the Gulbarga Lok Sabha constituency in 2019.

D K Shivakumar, Chinchansur, had expressed his desire to join the party on Ugadi, the new year day observed according to the Hindu calendar in Karnataka.

"Today, Baburao Chinchansur, who comes from Mallikarjun Kharge's home district, has joined the Congress, reposing faith in Kharge's leadership. I welcome him to the party," Shivakumar said.

Chinchansur was in Congress till 2018 and served as a minister in Siddaramaiah from 2013 to 2016. After he got defeated in 2018, he joined BJP.

Chinchansur, who played against Kharge once, lauded the party's national president for his leadership. Also, expressing his gratitude towards state Congress president DK Shivakumar, he said, "For the favour he has done for me, I will remain indebted to him in my next seven births."