Udupi: (The Hindu): This means we will indirectly be backing the BJP: Shetty. Supporters of K. Jayaprakash Hegde, former MP, have decided to cast their votes for non-Congress candidates in the forthcoming zilla and taluk panchayat elections in the district. Mr. Hegde was expelled from the Congress party in December 2015 for contesting as a rebel in the Legislative Council elections.

A high profile leader, Mr. Hegde, who began his political career with the undivided Janata Dal, was the Minister for Ports and Fisheries in the H.D. Deve Gowda and J.H. Patel governments from 1994 to 1999. After the Janata Dal split, he contested and won twice as an Independent from Brahmavar Assembly constituency in 1999 and 2004. He then joined the Congress and was Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP from 2012 to 2014.

Addressing presspersons here on Thursday, Birti Rajesh Shetty, one of Mr. Hegde’s supporters, who also was expelled from the Congress, said that U.R. Sabhapathi, former MLA and Congress leader, had in a press conference in Kundapur a couple of days ago stated that Mr. Hegde was irrelevant in politics after his expulsion.

“If Mr. Hegde is irrelevant, then why are his supporters leaving the Congress almost every day?” he asked.

He said that it was only after Mr. Hegde joined the Congress party that its organisational structure became active. Even senior Congress leader B. Janardhan Poojary had said that injustice was done to Mr. Hegde as the latter had sought a ticket for the Legislative Council only after Pratapchandra Shetty had declined from contesting in the council polls. However, Mr. Shetty had later contested as Congress candidate in Council polls and won, while Mr. Hegde lost, he said. The intention of Mr. Hegde’s supporters was to remain neutral. But after Mr. Sabhapathi’s statement, they decided to support non-Congress candidates in the forthcoming elections to the local bodies.

“We will support candidates with good records in the respective constituencies. But this also means indirect support to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in some constituencies as it was fighting all the seats in the district,” Mr. Shetty said.

To a query, Mr. Shetty said that the Congress would struggle to retain the two zilla panchayat and seven taluk panchayat seats in the Brahmavar belt this time due to Mr. Hegde’s expulsion.

“Only one supporter of Mr. Hegde is contesting in Saibrakatte Taluk Panchayat constituency,” he said.

“The Congress will suffer in the elections in the district due to issues such as cancellation of ration cards, non-resolution of the Forms 9 and 11 affecting conversion of land and not providing rights of Kumki lands to farmers,” Mr. Shetty said.

Other supporters of Mr. Hegde including Gopal Bangera, Vikas Shetty and Prithviraj Shetty, were also present on the occasion.

He was expelled from the party in 2015 for contesting as a rebel in the Council polls

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