Bengaluru: YSV Datta quits Congress after ticket disappointment

Bengaluru: After finding that his name was excluded from the Congress' second list of assembly elections contestants, Congress leader YSV Datta exits the party. He was earlier a Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) MLA who jumped ship to join Congress in January and now he plans on contesting as an independent candidate.

In Kadur assembly constituency, the Congress chose to hand the ticket to Anand K S who is said to be a close aide of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President, D K Shivakumar. This announcement from Congress left Datta disappointed.

While speaking to his supporters, Datta stated that the Congress betrayed him. "I had been in JDS for 50 years before I decided to quit. I had expected the Congress to give me the ticket in Kadur, but they did not. This is a betrayal," He said.

"I will conduct a meeting with my supporters on April 13. In the meeting, we will decide upon a date to file my nomination. I do not have money or power but I have the love of people," Datta said.

In a campaign drive on Saturday, JDS leader H D Kumaraswamy was heard mocking Datta for quitting JDS only to be rejected by Congress. It is to be noted that Datta was a close confidante of JDS Supremo, H D Deve Gowda before he quit JDS.