Daijiworld Media Network - Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Dec 26:  S Bangarappa, who has joined and left several parties and had set up his own party only to  merge the same with others later, is set to cross the Congress threshold again shortly. It may be recalled, that he was with the Congress earlier a couple of times, and was the chief minister of state when the Congress was in power.

After coming in and out of several parties in search of a coveted position since losing his chief ministership, Bangarappa's quest has not ended. After joining the BJP in 2004 just before the election and winning with the BJP ticket to Loksabha from Shimoga constituency, he had deserted it shortly thereafter, to give birth to Samajwadi Party(SP) in the state and become its state unit president. He is a disillusioned man now, having failed to make any conceivable impact on the vote banks of the other parties in the state.

In various meetings conducted to seek votes for the Congress candidates in the by-election scheduled to be held on December 27, Bangarappa has often been saying that the Samajwadi Party would get merged with the Congress.  On Thursday December 25, he reiterated that he would join the congress and fight the next Loksabha election as a Congress candidate. In an interview with a local television news channel, he confirmed that he would merge the state unit of the SP with the Congress and that the nod of the Congress high command was awaited for the move to materialize.

Shimoga district unit of the Congress is learnt to have already taken an unanimous decision to admit Bangarappa into the Congress fold and sent its recommendation to the state leadership.  Bangarappa also said that he is taking this step to consolidate secular forces in the state to decimate the BJP which is engaged in malpractices and misusing the administrative machinery.