Senior BJP leader and former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar joined the Congress ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in the State.  A few minutes after he joined the Congress on April 17, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar handed over to Mr Shettar the ‘B’ form to contest elections from Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency.

Mr Shettar has won from this constituency six times since 1994. He had won all elections on the BJP ticket. He was denied a ticket by the ruling BJP to contest the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections on May 10. For the first time, he would be contesting elections on the Congress ticket.