Karnataka BJP MLA Gopalakrishna resigns as legislator, set to join Congress

Kudligi BJP MLA N Y Gopalakrishna on Friday resigned as legislator, ahead of the May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, and is likely to join the Congress.

Gopalakrishna met Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri at his office here and submitted the resignation.

According to reports, he had recently met senior State Congress leaders D K Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah, and held discussions.

Gopalakrishna was earlier with the Congress and had got elected from Molakalmuru Assembly segment in Chitradurga district four times (1997, 1999, 2004 and 2008).

On not getting the Congress ticket in 2018, he had joined the BJP ahead of the elections. The party gave him a ticket from Kudligi in Vijayanagara district instead of Molakalmuru, as senior leader Sriramulu was fielded from there. He had won from there.

Earlier this month, two MLCs from BJP -- Puttanna and Baburao Chinchansur -- quit from their Legislative Council membership to join the Congress.

JD(S) MLA S R Srinivas (Gubbi Srinivas alias Vasu) on Thursday joined the Congress, after resigning as MLA on March 27.

Shivakumar said on Thursday there is a "long list of people" wishing to join the Congress and it will be made known in stages, in the days to come.