Pics: Umesh Marpalli
Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (UM)

Udupi, Oct 17: BJP leaders including union minister Ananth Kumar and R Ashok who were relaxing at the inspection bunglow (IB) here on Monday October 16, prior to the 'Parivartana Samavesha' of the party, had an unexpected visitor.

Congress minister Pramod Madhwaraj, who is also the Udupi district in-charge, made a suprise visit to the IB even as BJP leaders were having tea.

Madhwaraj, unaware of the presence of BJP leaders in the IB, asked his political rivals whether they were having an internal party meeting, or if not, whether he could join them. The BJP leaders heartily welcomed him into the room. The usual on-the-record politics of hate and blame-game saw a relief as the adversaries bonded and shared light moments.

He then sat with them, had tea and exchanged pleasantries. He later told daijiworld that Ananth Kumar asked after his mother Manorama Madhwaraj.

Madhwaraj said that he had come to the IB to freshen up, and on finding the BJP leaders there, he decided to greet them as a matter of courtesy. He added that no other meaning should be derived from the meeting, asserting that it definitely did not mean he was joining the BJP. In the recent past, there have reports in a section of the media that Madhwaraj was inclining towards the BJP.

Other BJP leaders who were present included Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Shobha Karandlaje, MLA Sunil Kumar, BJP district president Mattaru Rathnakar Hegde and others.

Meanwhile, a delegation of cashew growers came to the IB to meet the BJP leaders and submitted a memorandum urging the central government to reduce GST on the cashew industry from 12% to 5%.