Hubballi, Apr 3: Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council Basavaraj Horatti on Sunday said he would join the BJP and likely be its candidate for the upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers' constituency.

Horatti, elected as MLC seven successive times from 1980, has ended his association with the JD(S).

"...the time has come to join (BJP), not sure when...all (BJP) leaders have told me, I have also accepted it...they have not announced a candidate from this constituency for my sake," Horatti said.

Speaking to reporters, he said JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy too said he has no objections to Horatti's decision.

"I'm still the chairman, I will join the BJP ahead of filing nomination, once the elections are declared....all leaders, including Chief Minister (Basavaraj Bommai) and Yediyurappa (BJP leader), have agreed. Yediyurappa called me yesterday (Saturday) and said J P Nadda (BJP national president) has agreed, things are almost final," he added.

Considered to be among the senior-most MLCs, Horatti was seen as JD(S)'s prominent face from north Karnataka.

He had been State Education Minister, and been elected as the Chairman of the Legislative Council in February 2021.

The MLC polls from graduates' and teachers' constituencies are expected in June or July.

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Pratapgarh (UP) (PTI): Four people were booked here for the abduction and assault of a man who they allegedly tied to a tree and beat up, police said on Wednesday.

The incident, a video of which has gone viral, took place on Tuesday afternoon under the Kunda police station limits.

The FIR was registered on Wednesday evening based on a complaint from the victim's father.

According to Keshav Prasad Yadav, a resident of Mauli village, some people called his 18-year-old son Nikhil Yadav on the phone and asked him to come out of his house around 2.30 pm on Tuesday.

As he reached outside the village as instructed, the accused allegedly forced him into a car and took him towards the Tinpedwa forest area, where they tied him to a tree and assaulted, the complainant said.

The attackers also recorded a video of the incident and circulated it on social media. The purported video shows the men thrashing Nikhil one after another, while one of them is assumed to have recorded the act.

Kunda Station House Officer Manoj Pandey confirmed the incident and said efforts are underway to identify and arrest all the accused.

Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav has shared the video on social media, describing the incident as reflective of a "dominant mindset" against the PDA (Pichda or Backward, Dalit, and Alpasankhyak or Minority), and demanded strict action against the accused.