I have respect for PM Modi & Shah: Shettar after joining Congress

Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who severed his decades-old ties with the BJP, refused to blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the central leadership of the party for denying him a ticket to contest in the upcoming Karnataka polls.

Without naming anyone, Shettar accused the Karnataka BJP of being controlled by a few leaders. "A handful of people are controlling the party and they are hindering the party's growth for their personal growth. I don't want to criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, J.P. Naddaji or central leadership as they might not be aware of developments happening here," he said at a press meet at the Congress party office in Bengaluru.

Shettar joined the grand old party in the presence of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and other Congress leaders.

The former senior BJP leader said that he was joining Congress "wholeheartedly". "Yesterday, I left BJP and today I joined the Congress party. Many are surprised to see a former CM, who has also served as the Leader of the Opposition twice, joining another party. The BJP has given me every position and being a loyal party worker, I have always worked for the party's growth. However, I was hurt by the way the party treated me now," Shettar claimed.

The Lingayat strongman said that he was one among the leaders in Karnataka to have built the party from the scratch. "I had worked alongside Ananth Kumar and Yediyurappa to build the party. I admit BJP has given me everything. In return, I built the party as a loyal worker. Whatever the party had asked me to do, I have done it sincerely," he added.

"I was hurt when I was told that I would not get a ticket just days before the nomination filing process started. If they had informed me at least 15 days ago or assured me that they would give me some responsibility in exchange for bidding goodbye to electoral politics, I would have considered their proposal," he claimed.

The former CM said that he was elected from Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency six consecutive times with a margin of at least 25,000 votes. Shivakumar welcomed him by giving the 'B' form to Jagadish Shettar and said that Shettar was joining Congress "unconditionally".