Bengaluru: Sharing his experience of joining Bharatiya Janata Party quitting Congress party, BJP MLA S.T. Somashekar on Monday alleged that his party offers sweets for leaders of other parties and after enjoying power, the leaders are given poison.
“Prior to coming to BJP, leaders are given jamoon and later after losing power, leaders who joined from other parties are given poison,” said Somashekar. S.T. Somashekar was one among others who quit Congress party in 2019 to join BJP.
After 15 Congress MLAs and two Janata Dal Secular MLAs switched sides in 2019 led to the collapse of JDS and Congress coalition government, the BJP government came to power in Karnataka and B.S. Yeddyurappa became the Chief Minister and later Basavaraj Bommai took charge as Chief Minister.
After the BJP came to power in Karnataka in 2019, S.T. Somashekar was made Minister for Cooperation and given the district incharge of Mysuru. In the 2023 election, Somashekar was reelected to the Assembly on a BJP ticket from Yeshwanthpur in Bengaluru city.
In Mysuru, Somashekar said efforts are being made by a couple of leaders in BJP to throw him out of the party and others wish that I quit the party at the earliest.
“I am not invited to party programmes nowadays or for press conferences,” said Somashekar and added that he has been experiencing suffocation in BJP. Without hiding anything, he said, "I have revealed the displeasure in me."
It is speculated that Somashekar, a former Congress MLA, has been inching closer to rejoining his former party and the BJP MLA is said to be in touch with Congress leaders. He had met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah which triggered speculations that Somashekar would join Congress party and the BJP MLA had praised the ruling Congress party for its works.
