Veteran leader quits Congress, joins BJP

Veteran leader D B Chandre Gowda, who had recently resigned from the Congress, has joined the Bharatiya Janata Party. He will fight the forthcoming Lok Sabha polls from the Bangalore North constituency against Congress leader C K Jaffer Sharrief.

A former law minister in the S M Krishna-led Congress government, Chandre Gowda had given up his parliamentary constituency Chickmagalur in 1978, for Indira Gandhi.

Gowda had been elected as the Member of Parliament from Chickmagalur, a Congress stronghold. Sensing the strength of the party, Indira decided to contest the polls from Chickmagalur, and Chandre Gowda stepped aside to pave the way for her candidature.

Gowda was upset with the Congress for denying him the poll ticket from the Udupi-Chickmagalur seat. Though he has indicated that he would join the Janata Dal – Secular, he finally took up the BJP's offer.