V Somanna To Quit BJP, To Be Congress Candidate From Tumakuru Constituency In 2024 LS Polls?

Days after BY Vijayendra assumed the role of State President of the Karnataka BJP, there are widespread rumors suggesting that senior leader V Somanna may quit the saffron party and is contemplating a move to the Congress.

Speculation is rife that Somanna held talks with Deputy CM DK Shivakumar and he has been entrusted with the responsibility of fortifying the party's presence in Bengaluru South in preparation for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Additionally, there are plans within the Congress to field him as a candidate from the Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency.

Somanna's discontent with the central leadership stems from his dissatisfaction with BS Yediyurappa's son gaining prominence in the party. He had set his eyes on the State BJP Chief post.

As the central leadership overlooked him and made BSY's son as the state chief, Somanna is about to quit the party and join the Congress.

V Somanna embarked on his political journey as a corporate figure in 1983 and secured his first term as MLA in 1994 on a JD(S) ticket. He then joined Congress and held ministerial positions, including Minister for Prisons and Minister for Bangalore Urban Development from 1996 to 1999.

In 1999, he won the Binnypet seat as an independent candidate, later being elected from the Congress in 2004 and 2008.

Transitioning to the BJP, Somanna served as a Member of the Karnataka Legislative Council until 2018. He held ministerial portfolios in Horticulture, Sericulture, Housing, Infrastructure, and Development in the previous BJP government.

However, in the 2023 elections, he contested from Chamrajnagar and Varuna constituencies but faced defeat in both.

In a related development, the meeting between Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya and DK Shivakumar has fueled further speculation.