New Delhi, Jan 25: Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagdish Shettar, who had joined the Congress ahead of the 2023 legislative elections last year, returned to the BJP on Thursday.

"Today is a day of great happiness for us as Jagadish Shettar is making a return to BJP. We all welcome him," said Anil Baluni, a Rajya Sabha member and the National chief spokesperson of the BJP.

Shettar rejoined the BJP in the national capital in the presence of former Karnakata chief minister BS Yediyurappa, Union Minister Bhupender Singh Yadav, Karnataka BJP president Vijayendra Yediyurappa, Union Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

After getting inducted into the BJP once again, Shettar said, "The party gave me a lot of responsibilities in the past. Due to some issues, I went to the Congress party. In the last eight to nine months, there were a lot of discussions, also BJP workers asked me to come back to the BJP."

"Yediyurappa ji and Vijayendra ji also wanted me to come back to the BJP. I am rejoining the party with the belief that Narendra Modi ji has to become the PM again," he said.

Earlier in the day, Shettar met with Union Home Minister Amit Shah at BJP headquarters in Delhi.

There had been ongoing rumours about Shettar's return to the BJP for the past few days, to which the Congress leaders in Karnataka had responded by saying that the BJP's leadership crisis in the state prompted the party to head towards Shettar.

Shettar had quit BJP and joined Congress in April 2023, ahead of the Karnataka assembly elections.

(ANI)

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