Hoskote independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda all set to join Congress
Bengaluru, Dec 17: Giving clear indications that he was all set to join the Congress, independent MLA from Hoskote assembly constituency Sharath Bachegowda on Thursday said he wants to be associated with a national party which would give him an opportunity to lend voice to broader issues.
Amid speculation for some time now about his joining the Congress, Sharath Bachegowda met Congress Karnataka president D K Shivakumar at the latter's residence last night.
"The subject matter at yesterday's meeting was on the upcoming gram panchayat and District Co-operative Central (DCC) Bank elections which we are fighting together," Sharath said.
Speaking to PTI, he said, it is not that the issue of joining Congress did not come up for discussion during the meeting, but nothing is concrete as yet and no absolute time frame has been fixed for it.
Asked if he has made up his mind to join Congress, Sharath said, ".... I'm looking to align with some national party...there are many broad issues which are happening right now to which I want to lend my voice.So joining a national party would make sense for me."
Sharath, 37, is the son of BJPs Member of Parliament from Chikkaballapur B N Bachegowda, and had served as secretary of BJP's Yuva Morcha in the past.
He was expelled from the BJP as he rebelled and decided to contest against the party's official candidate MTB Nagaraj during the December 2019 assembly bypolls.
He then went on pull off a victory in the bypolls with his 'Swabhimani' campaign as an independent candidate.
Sharath was against the BJP's decision to field Nagaraj who had jumped ship from the Congress.
In the 2018 assembly election, Sharath, who was the BJP candidate, had lost to Nagaraj, who was then with the Congress.
Asked about why he was not joining the JD(S) which had supported him during the bypolls without fielding a candidate, Sharath, who holds a mechanical engineering degree and did his MS in the US, said "I want to identify myself with a national party."
According to Congress party sources, Sharath may join the party some time in the new year and things are being worked out.
To a question on not reconciling with the BJP as his father is still in the party, he said, "in order to have a reconciliation, there needs to be an approach.Since there hasn't been an approach, there is nothing of that sorts."
"With Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa clearly backing his opponent Nagaraj, by making him MLC despite losing assembly bypolls and with prospects of also making him a Minister, Sharath seems to have realised his chances are bleak in the BJP.
Hence, he is looking forward to secure his political future with the Congress," political workers in Hoskote said.
By inducting him Congress too plans to bank on Sharath and his support base for improving its prospects in Hoskote.
His father and now MP has represented the seat several times in the past from the Janata Dal and also the BJP.
While Sharath is largely seen as a "local boy" in Hosakote, Nagaraj has been projected as an outsider by his opponent, political workers from the constituency said.
ನಿನ್ನೆ ಕೆಪಿಸಿಸಿ ಅಧ್ಯಕ್ಷರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @DKShivakumar ರವರನ್ನು ತಮ್ಮ ಸದಾಶಿವನಗರದ ನಿವಾಸದಲ್ಲಿ ಭೇಟಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಗ್ರಾಮ ಪಂಚಾಯಿತಿ ಚುನಾವಣೆ ಹಾಗೂ ಇದೇ ತಿಂಗಳು 27ರಂದು ನಡೆಯಲಿರುವ ಬಿಡಿಸಿಸಿ ಬ್ಯಾಂಕ್ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯ ಕುರಿತು ಚರ್ಚಿಸಲಾಯಿತು.
— Sharath Bachegowda (@SBG4Hosakote) December 17, 2020
ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ಮಾಜಿ ಸಚಿವರಾದ ಶ್ರೀ @krishnabgowda ರವರು ಉಪಸ್ಥಿತರಿದ್ದರು.@KPCCPresident pic.twitter.com/Y9AvvGgenF
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Du Plessis fifty, bowlers carry RCB to four-wicket win over GT
Bengaluru, May 4: Royal Challengers Bengaluru pressed the self-destruction button halfway but a blazing fifty by captain Faf du Plessis had enough torque in it to carry them to a four-wicket over Gujarat Titans in their IPL match here on Saturday.
Du Plesiss (64, 23b, 10x4, 3x6) and Kohli (42, 27b, 2x4, 4x6), who added 92 runs in just 35 balls for the opening wicket, were in prime touch as Royal Challengers moved past a frail target of 148, braving some nervy moments, most of it their own creation.
The win also lifted RCB to seventh place on the table with eight points from 11 matches, and kept their mathematical chances of making it to the play-offs alive.
Du Plessis and Kohli dealt in boundaries as the home side racked in 92 runs in Power Play, that contained 10 fours and seven maximums.
Both Du Plessis and Kohli were severe on all GT bowlers, as the latter began the butchering with two sixes off pacer Mohit Sharma in the first over.
Du Plessis was in no mood to play the role of a sidekick as he waded into left-arm pacer Josh Little with a sequence of 4, 6, 4, 4 in the second over that produced a total of 20 runs.
The Titans introduced IPL debutant left-arm spinner Manav Suthar in the hope of containing Kohli at least, but the ploy was foiled spectacularly.
The RCB talisman showed his increasing comfort against spin, clobbering Suthar for two successive sixes.
Du Plessis reserved his punitive blade for Mohit, whom he carted around for four fours in the fifth over, as the South African reached fifty in just 18 balls before falling to Little.
RCB entered a phase of struggle from there as they lost last match centurion Will Jacks, Rajat Patidar, Glenn Maxwell and Cameron Green between the sixth and 10th overs for just 20 runs.
Little (4/45) and spinner Noor Ahmad (2/23) were the chief perpetrators as RCB slipped from 92 for 1 to 112 for five.
Ahmad soon ousted Kohli as RCB were 117 for six but Dinesh Karthik (21 not out, 12b) was cool under pressure as RCB notched their overall fourth and third win in a row of this season.
Before RCB batsmen joined the party, their bowlers came up with an immaculate effort on a supportive pitch to bowl GT to a modest 147.
There were a couple of good partnerships – 61 between David Miller and Shahrukh Khan and 44 by Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan – but the Titans lacked that one big innings or a stand that could have given them a firmer grip on the match.
In fact, they seemed distinctly incapable of accelerating even in the Power Play as their top-order batters struggled against RCB pacers, Mohammed Siraj (2/29) and Yash Dayal (2/21) who stuck to a wonderful length.
That GT managed to strike just two fours in Power Play offered ample evidence to their struggle and RCB bowlers’ accuracy.
The Gujarat side’s Power Play score of 23 for three was the lowest in the segment this season, and it was mainly due to Siraj’s domination upfront.
He consumed an out-of-form Wriddhiman Saha with a fine outswinger which the GT opener wafted to Dinesh Karthik behind the stumps.
Shubman Gill followed soon as his attempted swat to the on-side off Siraj took a leading edge and ended in the hands of Vysakh Vijayakumar at deep point.
Green fetched the third wicket for RCB in the Power Play when he jettisoned in-form B Sai Sudharsan, whose feeble pull close to the body was snaffled by Kohli at mid-off.
Miller (30, 20b) and Shahrukh (37, 24b) tried their best to drag GT out of the woods with a well-paced 61-run alliance off 37 balls for the fourth wicket.
Miller, who was fortunate to get dropped on 23 off Green by Karn Sharma, played archetypal power shots.
He punished leg-spinner Karn for a couple of sixes – a pull and a loft over extra cover – but fell to the same bowler when a miscued heave was grabbed by Maxwell at deep.
But a bigger misfortune was in store for the visitors as Shahrukh, who backed up a tad too far to Rahul Tewatia’s soft drop, could not beat a throw from Kohli to the non-striker’s end.
For the sixth-wicket, Tewatia (35, 21b) and Rashid (18, 14b) added 44 off 29 balls, but the latter’s desire to be innovative against Yash Dayal saw the ball crashing onto the stumps.
Tewatia, who punished Karn for 18 runs (4, 6, 4, 4) in the 16th over, departed soon.
