Bengaluru (PTI): Senior politician Basavaraj Horatti, who recently resigned as the Chairman of Karnataka Legislative Council and MLC, on Wednesday joined the BJP.

He joined the party in the presence of Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, BJP national General Secretary C T Ravi, Ministers R Ashoka, Govind Karjol, C C Patil among others.

"Basavaraj Horatti has been a member of the Legislative Council for nearly 45 years and has served as its Chairman and Minister. He is a leader with lot of experience, commands a lot of respect and has been working for the cause of teachers. After deciding to join BJP he met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and resigned from his post and has officially joined the party today," Bommai said.

Speaking to reporters after welcoming the senior leader, he said, BJP is organising a huge programme in Hubballi shortly, to mark his induction into the party.

"His joining has strengthened the party. No one has the record of being an MLC for such a long time in the entire country. It has strengthened the party especially in the north Karnataka region. We will use his experience and will give him all the opportunities and respects he deserves," he added.

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

He is likely to be fielded as the BJP's candidate for the upcoming MLC polls from West Teachers' constituency. Considered to be the senior-most MLC, the 76-year-old was seen as a prominent Lingayat face of the JD(S) from north Karnataka.

He had been education minister in the state, and was elected as the Chairman of the Legislative Council in February 2021.

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Kalaburagi: Members of the Kalyana Karnataka Pratyeka Rajya Horata Samiti, who staged a protest in the city on Friday morning demanding a separate state, were taken into custody by the police.

The members of the committee, led by President MS Patil Naribola, protested at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Circle in the city. The office-bearers hoisted a red flag as a part of the protest and shouted a slogan stating their demand for a new state named ‘Kalyana Karnataka’.

The city police intervened and took into custody Naribola and Laxmikanth Sadhvi, among other leaders of the movement.

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