The Hindu

Bangalore, Apr 17: Mine owner and former Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Anil H. Lad, was on Wednesday admitted to the Congress by the former president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) Allum Veerabhadrappa, here along with his followers.

Receiving the membership form from Lad, he said that the former MLA wanted to teach a lesson to the BJP and was ready to contest as an Independent, if no party was ready to accept him.

The Congress was waging a fight against the communal politics of the BJP, he said.

Veerabhadrappa said that the Congress decided to field Lad from Bellary to avoid division of the anti-BJP votes.

In the last elections, Veerabhadrappa, who had contested from Bellary said that he was sacrificing his claim on behalf of  Lad.

Lad alleged at a press conference that he had resigned from the BJP as he was against the “dictatorship” of a single family in the district and was opposed to communal politics.

Son of the late Hiroji Lad, a former Congress MLA, Lad alleged that the BJP denied him the ticket this time to deprive him a berth in the Ministry, if that party was voted to power.

He said that the BJP denied ticket to Shakuntala Shetty for the same reason as it was planning to induct Shobha Karandlaje, MLC, into the Ministry. Karandlaje has been given the ticket to contest from the Yeshwantpur constituency in Bangalore. The mine owner, however, denied that Rs.150 crore was given to the then Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy as alleged by the BJP MLC G. Janardhana Reddy. Reddy himself could not prove the charge, Lad added.

He alleged that the family of Reddy was claiming that it was so powerful that it could get BJP ticket to candidates not just in Bellary district, but also in the six neighbouring districts, and that he wanted to break its political clout.

A large number of Lambani women in their traditional attire came to the venue singing folks songs and blessed Lad.