Bengaluru: Former BJP MLA Ujaneshwara U. B. Banakar, one of the close aides of former Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa, joined the Congress alongside his supporters on Monday November 21 at the KPCC headquarters here in the presence of KPCC President D. K. Shivakumar and Opposition leader Siddaramaiah.
Banakar, one of many prominent figures joining the Congress, is a member of the influential Lingayat community.
He resigned from his position as director of Veerashaiva Lingayat Development Corporation and Chairman of Karnataka Warehousing Corporation, as well as his primary membership in the BJP.
“I spent three decades working with the BJP, but B C Patil, who won the seat from the Congress in 2018, left the party and joined BJP,” he said. Banakar, who narrowly lost in 2018, declared that he will take the seat in 2023.
