Karnataka: 8 JD-S men to join Congress on Sunday

In the first ever exodus from Janata Dal-Secular in Karnataka, eight of its former legislators will be joining the Congress on Sunday.

The new entrants will be welcomed into the party by All India Congress Committee general secretary Prithviraj Chavan in the KPCC office, party state general secretary M Ramachandrappa told PTI in Bangalore.

Those joining Congress include -- H C Mahadevappa, Vaijnath Patil, H Y Meti (all former ministers), B R Patil, Manchanahalli Mahadev, Somasekhar, Venkatesh and Krishna Murthy.

JD-S will suffer further a jolt in the old Mysore area following the quitting of the party by Mahadevappa, Manchanalli Mahadev, Somasekhar and Venkatesh as another former minister G T Deve Gowda had already been roped in by Bharatiya Janata Party.

Vaijnath Patil and B R Patil represent Gulbarga in north Karnataka region and Krishnamurthy hails from Chikmagalur.

These formers MLAs, loyalists of former deputy chief minister Siddaramaiah, had distanced themselves from the JD-S soon after party supremo H D Deve Gowda axed their leader from the ministry and removed them from the party in June 2005.

Siddaramaiah joined Congress in 2006.

At least 12 more former JD-S legislators, who have pledged their loyalty to former Deputy Chief Minister M P Prakash, a prominent lingayat community leader, also have plans to join Congress by next month, Ramachandrappa said.

Prakash has been holding parleys with the Congress high command in this regard.