Former MP Jayaprakash Hegde Joins BJP
Bengaluru: Former state minister and also former MP of Udupi – Chikkamagaluru K Jayaprakash Hegde along with his supporters joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Bengaluru Party office on Tuesday, March 7.
BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa welcomed Jayaprakash Hegde to the BJP by handing over the Party flag.
Welcoming Jayaprakash Hegde into the party, BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa said BJP’s strength has been bolstered in Udupi district with Hegde’s entry. Hegd’s arrival in our party will help strengthen its support base in Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts. There are more leaders from the Congress and JD(S) set to join the BJP in the coming days, he added.
On the occasion Moodbidri Congress Leader Meghanath Shetty, former Hospet MLA Rathan Singh also joined BJP.
Karkala MLA Sunil Kumar, former Minister Nagaraj Shetty, Opposition Leader Jagadish Shettar, R Asok, V Somanna, former Udupi MLA Raghupathi Bhat and others were present.
Jayaprakash Hegde had won the elections in the past in the Janata Dal, Congress and as an independent candidate. Most of the time, he had won on his own merit. Hegde joined the Congress party in 2008 from the erstwhile Janata Dal. In Udupi, the Congress was united in the 2012 Lok Sabha by-elections in which Hegde won the Udupi Chikkamagaluru Lok Sabha elections.
However, things changed in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. Loyalists of Hedge pointed fingers at party leaders for his defeat in 2014. They alleged that prominent congress leaders did not show any interest to ensure the victory of the Congress candidate after they won the 2013 Assembly elections.
