S M Krishna met BJP’s Amit Shah before quitting Congress

S M Krishna met with BJP prez Amit Shah five days before he resigned from the Congress party

Before he ended his 46-year-long association with the Congress, veteran leader S M Krishna met Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah. Sources from the BJP inform that Krishna met with Shah on January 23 in Delhi, five days before he sent his resignation to Sonia Gandhi.

As soon as news of his resignation broke out, senior BJP leaders in Karnataka welcomed the veteran leader to join the BJP.

"S M Krishna is a gentleman politician and we will welcome him with open arms if he is willing to join the BJP. He will be an added strength to the party. Expect more leaders to leave the Congress, it will be reduced to minimum numbers as far as leaders are concerned," said Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda. Other BJP leaders from the state including former chief minister of Karnataka Jagadish Shettar reacted similarly.

Why Krishna matters?

Speculations are flying high that following his meet with Shah and his subsequent resignation from the Congress, Krishna may join the BJP or help the party in the upcoming assembly polls in Karnataka. Leaders in the Karnataka Congress are unhappy with S M Krishna's exit and know what the repercussions could be. "S M Krishna may not be able to lead Congress to victory in the old Mysuru region but he still holds enough sway to turn the results detrimental to the Congress party and that is a matter of concern. We have already lost a parliamentary seat in Mandya and with S M Krishna not on our side for the upcoming assembly polls things will get difficult," said an All India Congress Committee office-bearer.

It may be noted that while Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief Dr Parameshwara and D K Shivakumar attempted to meet him on Saturday to convince him to withdraw his resignation, neither Chief Minister Siddaramaiah nor S M Krishna's Union cabinet colleagues made any efforts to retain the veteran party leader. This lack of support and acknowledgement disappointed S M Krishna, prompting him to resign from the Congress.

OneIndia News