A day after quitting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ex-Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress in the presence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday.
Karnataka Congress president DK Shivakumar, former state chief Siddaramaiah and Congress senior politician Randeep Surjewala were also present at the ceremony in Bengaluru.
Justifying his decision, Shettar said, "I was among those who organised and grew the party (BJP), especially in the North Karnataka region. BJP gave me respect and position. In exchange, I was a loyal worker who honestly fulfilled his responsibilities. I won [the elections] six times by a margin of 20,000 to 25,000 votes every time. I thought I would be naturally fielded for the 7th time."
"However, I was shocked to know that I was denied the ticket. No one spoke to me about it. If they had spoken to me about it and given me other responsibilities, I would have agreed," the 67-year-old politician said.
"When, Congress leaders contacted me and asked me to join their party, I agreed. I am joining Congress wholeheartedly," Shettar added.
Shettar noted that he had won Assembly polls six times continuously since 1994 with huge margins.
Meanwhile, Senior BJP senior politician Amar Singh Patil also joined Congress along with Shettar.
The state election will be held on 10 May, and the counting of ballots will be held on 13 May.