Shock for HD Deve Gowda, Janata Dal (S) leaders set to turn saffron

New Delhi\Hubli: In a blow to JD(S) supremo H.D.Deve Gowda, party  general secretary Mr Abdul Azeem and former Haliyal MLA Sunil  Hegde are set to join the BJP.

Mr Azeem has tendered his resignation along with 25 of his followers and  announced that he would be joining BJP on  Wednesday.

Mr Azeem, who joined JD(S) after taking voluntary retirement from police service, unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections. He was later made MLC and also a party office bearer.

This is not the first time Mr Azeem has quit JD(S). When the party refused to re-nominate him to the Council, he had quit the party and joined Congress. However, he returned within a few months.

For the last few months, Mr Azeem was cut off with the leadership including  his mentor Mr Deve Gowda and had written an open letter to Mr Gowda saying that unilateral decisions were being taken without consulting the Parliamentary Board.

He was miffed when his name went missing from the core committee. Sources said that neither Mr Gowda, nor his son Mr Kumaraswamy made any attempt to stop Mr Azeem from quitting .

With two other minority community leaders Mr B.Z. Zameer Ahamed Khan and Mr Iqbal Ansari  distancing themselves from  party affairs, the party is facing a crisis of sorts.

Meanwhile, BJP leaders have given the green signal to induct former Haliyal JD(S) MLA Sunil Hegde into the party. A decision was taken after State BJP president Prahlad Joshi and former Chief Minister Jagadish Shetter held talks with Hedge here on Sunday. Hegde will formally join the saffron party on November 6.

With this JD(S) is all set to lose its base in North Karnataka with exodus of many leaders of the party to BJP and Congress. The JD(S) leaders are leaving the party as they are upset with the failure of the party top brass to strengthen the party in the region.

“JD(S) leaders have totally neglected the region and this has caused much anger among  party workers in Uttar Kannada district. H.D. Kumaraswamy and Deve Gowda are focusing only on old Mysore to strengthen the party”, said Sunil Hegde who lost the last Assembly elections to minister R V Deshpande.