Congress MLA Umesh Jadhav resigns, likely to join BJP

Congress Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Dr Umesh Jadhav on Monday submitted his resignation to the Speaker of Karnataka Legislative Assembly, K. R. Ramesh Kumar amidst rumours of him joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Reportedly, Dr Umesh Jadhav is likely to join BJP on March 6 at an event expected to be attended by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. BJP is planning to field Dr Umesh against Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge from the Gulbarga seat in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

Calling Dr Umesh a "betrayer", Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, Dinesh Gundu Rao said: "His resignation was a foregone conclusion because he had already sold himself to BJP. He is leaving the Congress party for his selfish motives."

Umesh, a two-time MLA from the Chincholi constituency, was reportedly upset with the party for not giving enough importance to the other leaders of the Gulbarga district in Karnataka.

Umesh, along with three other MLAs- Ramesh Jarakiholi, Mahesh Kamatihalli and B. Nagendra, was disqualified by the Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, after they abstained from appearing in the Assembly's budget session on February 8 last month, fuelling the rumors speculation of defection.

He was also removed from the post of the Chairman of the Warehouse Corporation following this incident.