Two Karnataka MLAs resign, tipped to join Congress

Gopalakrishna was a four-time Congress MLA from the Molakalmuru assembly seat in Chitradurga, and a one-time Congress MLA from the Bellary seat before joining the BJP in 2018 to contest and win the Kudligi seat. Gopalakrishna belongs to the Scheduled Tribe Valmiki Nayak community and his family is known to have close ties with BJP leaders like B Sreeramulu, who is from the same ST community.

The 70-year-old leade was among the BJP MLAs widely tipped to lose out on a ticket for the 2023 polls on account of his age. The five-time Congress MLA jumped to the BJP in 2018 after being denied a Congress ticket from the Molakalmuru seat. He was shifted to Kudligi in Bellary by the BJP on account of Sreeramulu opting to contest the Molakalmuru seat in Chitradurga.

JDS legislator A T Ramaswamy, 71, a four-time MLA from the Arkalgud seat in the Hassan region of Karnataka, also submitted his resignation letter to Karnataka Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri. The veteran politician, who is widely respected as a clean leader, has represented Arkalgud both as a Congress legislator (till 2004) and as a JDS legislator.

Ramaswamy, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, has claimed that he is not suited for the money-driven politics of the present times. He has said he will contest polls if offered a ticket by any party. The JDS has already offered the Arkalgud ticket to Ramasamy’s former rival A Manju, a former Congress minister.

Ramaswamy, who is best known for producing a key report on land encroachments in Bengaluru, is the second JDS MLA to quit since the poll code of conduct came into play on March 29. On Thursday, JDS MLA S R Srinivas, who resigned earlier this week, was inducted into the Congress party.

“I have resigned as Arkalgud MLA. I have submitted my resignation to the assembly secretary and once the Speaker who is on tour comes back I will request him to accept it,” Ramaswamy said. The veteran leader said that he did not quit the JDS but was forced out by money power.

S R Srinivas, N Y Gopalakrishna and A T Ramaswamy were the first MLAs to quit their parties since the 2023 polls were announced by the Election Commission on March 29. A BJP member of the legislative council, Baburao Chinchansur, quit last week to return to the Congress.

The state Congress chief D K Shivakumar said this week that dozens of leaders from the BJP and JDS are likely to cross over to the Congress ahead of the polls. The BJP’s chief minister Basavaraj Bommai has accused the Congress of carrying out an operation to poach its leaders ahead of the 2023 polls.