No one wants Roshan Baig: Disqualified MLA in a fix as BJP distances itself

Roshan Baig's departure from the Congress opens up opportunities for Rizwan Arshad.
No one wants Roshan Baig: Disqualified MLA in a fix as BJP distances itself
No one wants Roshan Baig: Disqualified MLA in a fix as BJP distances itself
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The stage was set for a grand induction of disqualified Congress and JD(S) MLAs into the BJP at the party's office in Bengaluru's Malleswaram on Thursday morning.

But instead of inducting all 17 disqualified MLAs, as hinted by Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa before, the BJP inducted only 16 disqualified MLAs into the party.

Conspicuous by his absence was former Shivajinagar Congress MLA Roshan Baig who was not invited by the BJP to join the party. "How many times do we tell you all we don't want Roshan Baig. BJP doesn't want Roshan Baig," said Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Minister KS Eshwarappa when asked about Roshan Baig. However, he refrained from giving a reason for the party's stance on not inviting Roshan to join.

Sources in the BJP said that the senior leaders in the party were unwilling to allow Roshan Baig to join the party. Roshan was named by Mansoor Khan, the founder of IMA Jewels, in the scam which came to light in June this year. In a video, Mansoor claimed that he paid Rs 400 crore to Roshan which had not been returned to him.

BJP functionaries also cited reservations over the murder of RSS worker Rudresh, who was hacked to death on Kamaraj Road in central Bengaluru in 2016. Several BJP leaders including Shobha Karandlaje had blamed Roshan Baig and claimed that he was involved in the killing.

"His name came up in the videos released by Mansoor Khan and even though BJP leaders were seen with him around the time of his resignation from the Congress, the party has now decided it will not invite Roshan Baig to join the party," a BJP functionary told TNM.

Unlike other disqualified MLAs, Roshan has found it difficult to transition into the BJP. "We will work for any candidate chosen by the party but a section of BJP workers in this area did not want Roshan to be named as the candidate, both because of his history and because he is a popular Muslim leader," a party functionary in the city said.

This came as a surprise to Roshan, who till Wednesday maintained that he was joining the BJP.  A communication sent from a source close to Baig requested his supporters to join the induction ceremony at the BJP's office in Malleshwaram in the city on Thursday. Even though the party's official media release excluded Roshan from the list, the seven-time MLA maintained that it was a "typing error".

The BJP's decision to exclude him leaves Roshan's political future uncertain. Roshan, a seven-time legislator from Bengaluru, has been the face of the Congress party in Bengaluru's central area for years. He was first elected as the MLA in 1985 and worked as a minister in the Janata Party government headed by JH Patel. In 1999, when the Janata Dal split to form the Janata Dal (Secular) headed by HD Deve Gowda, and the Janata Dal (United), Roshan decided to move to the Congress. He was elected six times as a Congress MLA and became a popular figure of the party in the city.

However, trouble began for Roshan when he was overlooked in favour of Zameer Ahmed Khan, who became the Minister for the Haj and Wakf Board under former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Earlier this year in May, just after the Lok Sabha elections, Roshan lashed out at Congress leaders KC Venugopal and Siddaramaiah showing the first signs of dissension with the party's hierarchy. He called Venugopal, party in-charge in Karnataka "a buffon" and described former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah as "arrogant".

Soon after, Roshan was detained by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the IMA scam on July 15. At the time, he was pictured with BJP leader CP Yogeshwar and party functionary Santhosh, a close aide of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa.

In the last two years, Roshan had grown wary of the rise of Rizwan Arshad, who contested as the Congress candidate in the Bengaluru Central constituency losing to PC Mohan of the BJP. Roshan Baig's departure from the Congress opens up opportunities for Rizwan Arshad, who is one of the Congress aspirants from Shivajinagar.

Rizwan's tiff with Roshan became public knowledge earlier this year when Rizwan alleged that a TV channel worked in collusion with Rumaan Baig, son of Roshan Baig, to air a programme linking him to the IMA scam. He filed a legal notice against the news which telecasted tweets posted by Rumaan in its programme.

"Before he submitted his resignation, Roshan already knew that he wanted to leave the Congress. He was unhappy that he was sidelined and that Rizwan Arshad was taking his place in Shivajinagar, "a source close to Roshan said.

According to sources, Roshan planned to field his son Rumaan Baig as the BJP candidate in Shivajinagar. But with the BJP officially naming M Saravana as the party's candidate in Shivajinagar, it appears the door is now closed for Roshan to make a swift return to politics.

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