Bengaluru: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister, D K Shivakumar, announced on Thursday that more than 40 BJP and JD(S) leaders, opposing the recent alliance between the two parties, are keen on joining the Congress. This statement followed the entry of former BJP MLA Ramappa Lamani into the Congress after being denied a ticket to contest the upcoming assembly elections in May from the Shirahatti segment.

Lamani affirmed his entry into the Congress without any conditions. The alliance between JD(S) and BJP was confirmed last month after a meeting between H D Kumaraswamy, the leader of JD(S), and Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP National President J P Nadda in New Delhi.

Shivakumar, who is also the Congress state president, mentioned having received applications from over 40 leaders, but refrained from disclosing their names. He stated that after consultations with local leaders, they are progressively inducting them into the party.

These leaders, as per Shivakumar, hail from various regions spanning from Bidar in the north of the state to Chamarajanagar in the south. He emphasized that these leaders, opposing the BJP-JD(S) alliance, have expressed interest in joining the Congress, and their induction would be advantageous for both the party leadership and the nation.

Furthermore, Shivakumar claimed that over 100 individuals who contested the May assembly elections under the Aam Aadmi Party have also expressed interest in joining the Congress.

With PTI inputs