IANS/Bangalore
The BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) suffered a blow when former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa yesterday joined the Karnataka Janata Party (KJP) within an hour of resigning from the BJP and the assembly.
“It is the saddest day of my life as I have been compelled to leave the BJP with which I was associated for about 40 years and brought it to power in the state in 2008,” an emotional Yeddyurappa told a news conference.
Yeddyurappa faxed his resignation to BJP president Nitin Gadkari and submitted his resignation from the Karnataka assembly to speaker K G Bopaiah. He represented the Shikaripura assembly seat.
Blaming the BJP leadership and some state leaders for his exit, Yeddyurappa said he was overwhelmed by the support from hundreds of BJP cadres and members of opposition parties.
He will formally take over as president of the KJP on December 9 at Haveri, about 400km from Bangalore.
“About 300 members have joined the KJP from the BJP, Congress and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and hundreds will do so in the coming weeks,” he asserted.
The KJP was founded by Padmanabha Prasanna Kumar, a social activist, in April 2011 but has not contested any election till date.
Barring a couple of districts like Davangere, it hardly has any presence in the state.
“I do what I say. Though the BJP leadership and its state leaders tried their best to retain me, I have done what I said by quitting. I have quit the BJP with a heavy heart as I was betrayed by its high command, which conspired with some of the party’s state leaders to oust me from the chief minister’s post last year.”
Yeddyurappa resigned on July 31, 2011, after he was indicted by former Lokayukta (ombudsman) justice N Santosh Hegde in the multi-crore mining scam during his over three-year tenure.
Holding Gadkari and party general secretary Ananth Kumar responsible for his decision to quit, Yeddyurappa said he found it difficult to stay in the BJP as he felt let down after he was assured of being made president of the state unit after his name was cleared of graft charges.
“Though I have quit the BJP, I got the support of about 70 of its legislators including ministers and MPs. I have advised them not to resign as I want the BJP government to last its full term till May 2013.”