The Hindu : Karnataka News : V. Mudnal, followers, join BJP

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Wednesday, Feb 06, 2008
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Karnataka

V. Mudnal, followers, join BJP

Special Correspondent

The surgeon ends his three-year-long association with the JD (S

Party-hopper: Former MLA Veerbasantreddy Mudnal joins the BJP in Yadgir town of Gulbarga district on Tuesday.

Yadgir (GULBARGA Dist): Veerbasantreddy Mudnal, who was the former associate member of the Janata Dal (Secular), joined the Bharatiya Janata Party today, along with his followers, in the presence of former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, former Minister Katta Subramanya Naidu and party leader Shoba Karandlagi.

Dr. Mudnal’s decision to join the party is a shot in the arm for the BJP, which has very little presence in Yadgir taluk.

Dr. Mudnal, who was elected as a JD (S) rebel in the previous Assembly elections, is a well-known surgeon and teacher.

He had left behind a roaring practice in Bijapur city to contest the Assembly elections from Yadgir, to end the domination of Congress leader and former Minister A.B. Maalakaraddy.

Let down

In his brief address after formally joining the party, and garlanding Mr. Yeddyurappa, Dr. Mudnal said that he was pained by the attitude of the JD (S) and its leader H.D. Deve Gowda who had “betrayed” the BJP by going back on the agreement to transfer power to the BJP after the first 20 months of rule.

“I was happy after Mr. Gowda and other leaders of the JD (S) decided to extend support to Mr. Yeddyurappa to become the Chief Minister and submitted affidavits before the Governor and the President,” Dr. Mudnal said, and added, “But my happiness was short-lived when Mr. Gowda decided not to support the confidence vote in the Assembly and issued a whip on the day of voting.”

Dr. Mudnal said that he walked out of the Janata Dal legislature party meeting protesting against the decision. “When the official whip was issued to me, I tore it up and told the JD (S) leaders that I was not a slave of the party and my loyalty remained with the voters of my constituency,” he said.

Village tour

He said that after ending his three-year-long association with the JD (S), he took a tour of all the villages in the constituency to gain the pulse of voters and to seek their guidance on the future political course.

“The voters in my constituency wanted me to join the BJP and here, today, I am joining the BJP wholeheartedly,” he said.

Win expected

Welcoming Dr. Mudnal into the party, Mr. Yeddyurappa and Mr. Katta Subramanya said that Dr. Mudnal would help the party establish a clear lead over its rivals and win more Assembly seats in the district. Mr. Yeddyurappa said that his only appeal to the voters of the Yadgir constituency was that Dr. Mudnal should be re-elected on the BJP ticket with a wide margin.

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