Umesh Jadhav, the Karnataka MLA who submitted his resignation to the Assembly Speaker on Monday, joined the BJP on Wednesday at a rally in Kalaburagi.“I am very happy and very proud to be part of BJP. They have welcomed me very well. I beg you to give me a chance because a nationalist party and Modi have gained world renown,” Umesh reportedly said. He joined the party at the rally being addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kalaburagi.
Umesh joined the party in the presence of the BJP’s Karnataka chief BS Yeddyurappa. Umesh, a two-time MLA from Chincholi in Kalaburagi district, submitted his resignation to Assembly Speaker KR Ramesh Kumar on March 4. According to political observers, Umesh is likely to contest against Congress heavyweight Mallikarjun Kharge, the current leader of the party in Lok Sabha, from Gulbarga in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Mallikarjun Kharge has won the Assembly elections nine times in a row and has been the MP for two terms now. Umesh has been disgruntled with Mallikarjun Kharge and his son Priyank as he did not get inducted into the cabinet whereas Priyank, a first-time MLA, did. In the 2018 election, he did not get a ministerial position once again.
"The Congress has done everything it could with Jadhav. He was power hungry and has been dissenting against the party's leadership. He is an opportunist. We are disappointed with him," Congress state unit president Dinesh Gundu Rao told the media when Umesh submitted his resignation.
Umesh was one of the four MLAs whom the Congress top brass wanted to be disqualified for not following the party whip in attending the Budget session of the state Assembly. On Feb 11, a petition was submitted by Congress Legislature Party leader Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Dinesh Gundu Rao to the Speaker under the anti-defection law.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Siddaramaiah tweeted that Umesh’s resignation cannot be accepted.
“We had already petitioned to disqualify 4 MLAs, including Jadav, as per anti-defection law for involving in anti-party activities. Resignation cannot be accepted without deciding our petition. Let us leave it to the speaker to decide,” he tweeted.
We had already petitioned to disqualify 4 MLAs, including Jadav, as per anti-defection law for involving in anti-party activities. Resignation cannot be accepted without deciding our petition. Let us leave it to the speaker to decide.
— Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) March 5, 2019
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