Former Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi on Wednesday announced his decision to resign from the primary membership of the BJP, a day after the ruling party denied him a ticket to contest in the May 10 Assembly elections.
Savadi is a three-time MLA from Athani, but lost in the 2018 elections to Kumathalli (then in the Congress).
“I have certainly taken a decision. I have decided to resign from the primary membership of the party,” Savadi, a BJP MLC, said in a press conference.
He added that he will take a “strong decision” on Thursday evening and will start working from Friday.
There is speculation that he may join Congress.
Kumatalli was among the group of defectors who helped the BJP to bring down the Congress-JD(S) coalition and form its government under the leadership of B S Yediyurappa in 2019.
Taking the fight to the opposition camp, the ruling BJP on Tuesday chose to field heavyweights against top Congress leaders Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar in the May 10 Karnataka Assembly elections, spicing up the poll scene.
The party declared candidates for 189 constituencies out of the total 224 and the list includes 52 new faces.
(with PTI inputs)
