Ex-BJP MLA, who hails from Bommai’s district, joins Cong

Banakar joining Congress comes as a setback for BJP in CM Bommai’s home district Haveri

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: Former BJP MLA U B Banakar, who was sulking in his party for some time, on Monday joined the Congress along with his supporters. Banakar, son of former Karnataka assembly speaker B G Banakar, hails from Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai’s home district Haveri.

His entry into the Congress was on the cards ever since he resigned from the posts of Karnataka Warehouse Corporation chairman and the director of Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation on November 9. Banakar had also resigned from the BJP’s primary membership.

Banakar had been a loyalist of former chief minister B S Yediyurappa. He had first become MLA on a BJP ticket in 1994. He had walked out of the BJP when Yediyurappa founded Karnataka Janata Paksha in 2013 ahead of the assembly election that year and won the assembly election against B C Patil (incumbent agriculture minister) from Hirekerur.

Banakar had been sulking in the party for being sidelined along with his supporters in Hirekerur. Besides Banakar, Dr Srinivas, son of former JD(S) MLA from Kudligi late NT Bommanna and Mallikarjun Loni from Vijayapura joined Congress. Welcoming the leaders, Shivakumar said all of them were inducted after consultation with the local leaders.

“There is a large list of people who want to join Congress, and accordingly, we have inducted a few people into the party. All the leaders have accepted the party principles and joined without any conditions,” Shivakumar said.

”I was quiet when BC Patil joined the BJP as I wanted to see Yediyurappa become chief minister. I was forced to take this decision as the party failed to assured me a ticket from Hirekerur and BC Patil was torturing my supporters,”Banakar had said.