Pramod Madhwaraj joins BJP hours after leaving Congress

MANGALURU

Ending several days of speculation, senior Congress leader and former Minister of Fisheries Pramod Madhwaraj on Saturday tendered his resignation to the primary membership of the Congress party and joined the BJP in Bengaluru along with a few other Congress and JD(S) leaders hours later.

In a letter addressed to Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president D.K. Shivakumar, Mr. Madhwaraj said since last three years situation in Udupi District Congress has been a bad experience for him and it was leading to “political suffocation.” He had brought these facts to the notice of Mr. Shivakumar and other Congress leaders.

“I have observed that no worthwhile steps have been taken by the party to redress my grievance regarding the prevailing situation in Udupi district Congress,” he said.

He went on to state: “Due to circumstances explained above, I have reached a point wherein it is becoming impossible for me to continue in the Congress and to do justice to the new post that has been assigned to me recently. “

Mr. Madhwaraj said he humbly contributed towards the growth of the Congress in Udupi district and has spent his hard earned money for this purpose. The Congress, in return, has reciprocated by offering him various posts in the Government during his term as elected representative. He was recently appointed as one of the vice-presidents of KPCC. “I hasten to express my gratitude to all Congress leaders and party workers through this letter of resignation,” he said.

The 54-year-old Mr. Pramod comes from the family that has represented the Udupi Assembly constituency six times. Mr. Pramod’s father Malpe Madhwaraj got elected on Congress ticket in 1962. His mother Manorama Madhwaraj was elected four times between 1972 and 1989 from the constituency and served as Minister for 15 years. She joined the BJP and became the Udupi Member of Parliament in 2004.

Mr. Pramod defeated the present Udupi MLA K. Raghupathi Bhat in 2013 by a margin of 39,000 votes and became the Minister for Fisheries and Youth Services and Sports in the Siddaramaiah’s government.