Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (RJP)

Bengaluru, Jan 19: "I do not deny the news of me joining the Congress party,” said Former minister and BJP leader V Somanna here on Thursday, January 19. This has lent legitimacy to the rumours floating around since some days which said that Somanna, once a close aide of state BJP president Yeddyurappa, would join Congress soon.

Though Somanna did not confirm that he would indeed be joining Congress, this indirect reply will be taken that he is serious in leaving BJP to cross over to Congress.

Somanna was speaking to reporters at the airport here when he was asked to comment on the ongoing rumours. It was reported that chief minister Siddaramaiah himself was handling the matter of Somanna joining the Congress party. As by-elections will be held for Gundlupet and Chamarajanagar soon, a powerful Lingayat leader was absent in Congress in the prestigious Mysuru region after the demise of Mahadeva Prasad recently.

Somanna did not support Yeddyurappa when the latter had launched KJP in 2013. The fact that Yeddyurappa was later not only inducted back into BJP's fold but also made the party's state president, made matters worse for Somanna. According to sources, Somanna feels that he is being sidelined by the BJP.

It is obvious that it is only a matter of time before Somanna joins the Congress.