Another leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, Ayanur Manjunath has resigned from his post as MLC and the primary membership of the party and will contest the upcoming elections from Janata Dal (Secular) (JDS(S)). Ayanur, on Wednesday, April 19, resigned as a member of the Legislative Council and from the primary membership of the BJP.
Ayanur, a prominent Lingayat leader, met HD Kumaraswamy in Chitradurga on Wednesday afternoon, where he received a B form from JD(S) chief HD Kumaraswamy.
With April 20 being the last day for filing nominations, the BJP has not yet announced a candidate for the Shivamogga constituency. A few days earlier, the sitting MLA of Shivamogga, KS Eshwarappa had announced his retirement from electoral politics, reflecting a move made by many sitting MLAs from the BJP in accordance with the party high command's wishes. The Congress has fielded HC Yogesh to contest from the constituency.
"I could not serve the various communities effectively because of the Council membership. So, I want to get into the Karnataka Assembly, where laws are made. That is why I submitted my resignation as MLC said I am going to contest the Assembly elections from Shivamogga constituency." Ayanur Manjunath told reporters on Wednesday morning.
Former Congress MLA Anil Lad, who was vying for the Bellary City constituency, has also switched sides and has joined the JD(S). Lad met HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday night and was given the party’s B Form to contest from the Bellary City constituency in the upcoming elections. Lad will be pitted against BJP’s Somashekara Reddy and Lakshmi Aruna, wife of Gali Janardhan Reddy, who will be contesting from the newly-formed Kalyana Rajya Pragati Paksha.