Mahadev deserts Congress, may embrace BJP

Despite the last-minute efforts by senior Congress leaders, former Congress minister and an influential leader of the party M Mahadev, today announced his decision to quit the party, after nearly four decades of his association with it.

Along with him, former MLC C Ramesh and other followers of Mahadev announced their resignation from the party.

The announcement was made by the leaders on Wednesday, the deadline Mahadev had set the Congress leaders to meet his demands, including appointing him as the KPCC president. He had announced he would make known his decision on his political future on April 2.

However, Mahadev did not announce which party he would embrace, though he is expected to join the BJP.

Following difference with former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, he quit the Janata Dal and won the Chamundeswari by-election after joining the Congress, Mahadev was unhappy with the growing influence of Siddaramaiah over the last three months in the party. This had reached the point where they nearly came to blows at a party meeting, Mahadev had accused Siddaramaiah of manhandling him.

Mahadev was also a strong critic of former MP V Sreenivasa Prasad against whom he mounted an attack at the press meet.

A few days ago BJP leader and former Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa had met the Lingayat leader at his residence in Nanjangud and invited him to join his party. Mahadev had also met M Rajasekhara Murthy and ironed out his differences with him.

After these developments, Congress leaders including AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chauhan, in-charge of the party's Karnataka affairs, had persuaded the Nanjangud leader to stay on. Then, Mahadev had laid down certain conditions that he be named the KPCC president before April 2, which the party did not agree to.

Mahadev said he had lost confidence in both AICC president Sonia Gandhi and former CM S M Krishna. I am quitting the party from this very moment, he announced and said he would send his resignation to Sonia Gandhi and KPCC president Mallikarjuna Kharge.

He said he had served the party for 40 years, but the Congress neglected him. I was not even invited for the party's rallies in Mysore and Chamarajanagar, he alleged.

Mahadev criticised the Congress and said it had ignored the Veerashaiva community. Honest workers had no place in the party.

The resignation of Mahadev, a force to reckon with in Nanjangud, is seen as a blow to the Congress in this Lingayat-dominated region and is expected to favour the BJP. Mahadev may contest against Siddaramaiah either from the Chamundeswari or the newly-carved out Varuna constituency, as Nanjangud has become a reserved constituency.