JD (S) rebels led by M P Prakash joins Congress

Rebel JD (S) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash has joined the Congress party along with a total 14 former MLAs and 3 MLCs, dealing a major blow to former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda’s party ahead of the assembly elections.

Prakash, who had broken ties with the JD (S) almost six months ago, joined the Congress party in the presence of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President M Mallikarjun Kharge at the Congress Bhavan in Bangalore.

Prakash and his supporters formally became Congress members by paying a membership fee of Rs 100 each. Prakash’s supporters include former Ministers H S Mahadev Prasad, Sharanabasappa Darshanapur, Amaregowda Bayyapur and Ekanthaiah, besides former MLAs B C Patil, Santosh Lad, Anjaneya, K N Rajanna, Raju Gowda, Vasanth Bangera, Muniswamappa, Balaraj, Suryanarayana Reddy.

The MLCs, who joined the Congress on the occasion, include Chidananda, son in law of veteran politician M Rajashekarmurthy, besides Gurudev and Channabasappa.

“We have severed all ties with the JD (S). We have chosen a party which is closer to our ideology”, Prakash told reporters after joining Congress.

The former Deputy Chief Minister also said that he had not imposed any conditions to join the Congress party. “We are joining the Congress party expressing our faith and commitment to the party’s ideology. I have requested Congress President Sonia Gandhi to provide party tickets to all those, who joined the party along with me”, Prakash said.

Earlier, Prakash had arrived in Bangalore along with All India Congress Committee (AICC) leader in-charge of Karnataka Prithviraj Chauhan from New Delhi.

Welcoming Prakash and his supporters into the party, Kharge said their entry will help strengthen the Congress party ahead of the assembly elections.

The entry of Prakash, who belongs to the predominant Lingayat community of Karnataka, into the party is expected to not only give the Congress a much-needed representative from the influential community, but also cause damage to JD (S).