Bengaluru, Oct 23 : In a major development, BJP leader C.P. Yogeshwara met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah at his 'Cauvery' residence in Bengaluru on Wednesday ahead of bypolls in Karnataka and joined the Congress party.

Yogeshwara had wanted to contest the high profile Channapatna bypolls on a BJP ticket but was denied the opportunity.

On Wednesday Yogeshwara met CM Siddaramaiah and also took his blessings by touching his feet.

Yogeshwara formally joined the Congress party at the party headquarters in Bengaluru in the presence of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Dy CM Shivakumar.

Before that, he held a meeting with CM Siddaramaiah in the presence of Deputy CM Shivakumar, Minister Zameer Ahmad Khan, Minister for Kannada and Culture Shivaraj Tangadagi, former Congress MP D.K. Suresh and others.

Earlier, before proceeding to CM Siddaramaiah's house Yogeshwara had gone to the residence of the Dy CM and Congress state President, D.K. Shivakumar in Bengaluru early in the morning and held a meeting with him.

After the meeting with Shivakumar, Yogeshwara travelled to the CM's residence in the same car as the Dy CM.

Yogeshwara had refused to contest under the JD(S) symbol as an NDA candidate and had given time to the BJP till Tuesday evening to declare him as the candidate from the Channapatna segment.

Though the BJP was willing to field him, JD(S) leaders and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who represented the seat, could not come to a consensus.

Yogeshwara had contested against Kumaraswamy on a BJP ticket in the 2023 Assembly polls and lost the election.

Yogeshwara is a mass leader and is popular among people in the region.

Significantly, Yogeshwara is one of the leaders who had played an important role in 'Operation Lotus' to bring the BJP to power in 2019.

His decision to join the Congress is a setback for the BJP and the JD(S).

Channapatna bypolls is prestigious for the Congress government especially for Dy CM Shivakumar.

The constituency is considered a Vokkaliga bastion and Muslim votes will also play a major role.

Both the CM and Dy CM had postponed their prior engagement of taking part in the nomination rally of Priyanka Gandhi from the Wayanad Assembly bypolls in Kerala.

Sources revealed that Dy CM Shivakumar and Suresh strategised to rope in Yogeshwara. The task was handed over to the Congress MLA H.C. Balakrishna to track the movements of Yogeshwara.

Yogeshwara had played an important role in the victory of the NDA in the Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat.

Former PM H.D. Deve Gowda's son-in-law C.N. Manjunath contested as NDA candidate. Following the development, Union Minister Kumaraswamy has called the party leaders and workers to a meeting in Channapatna.

Sources state that as the stage is set for an intense fight, the JD(S) is likely to announce a ticket for a common leader from the party.

Earlier, Yogeshwara submitted the resignation letter from the primary membership of the BJP on WhatsApp. In the six-line resignation letter he conveyed that he was resigning from the party membership and thanked them for their cooperation.

/IANS