Jagadish Shettar still has photos of Modi & Shah in office, says won't remove them
Hubbali (PTI): Former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar -- contesting on a Congress ticket hoping to reclaim his lost self-respect-- still has photos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah hanging on a wall in his home-office and says it is not good to remove them.
The photos adorn the wall although he is hurt the BJP chose not to pick him for the May 10 assembly elections.
Having represented Hubli-Dharwad Central since 1994 on a BJP ticket, Shettar, however claimed the saffron party had no "address" earlier there and that he built it since then, making it a "Shettar vs Congress" battle ever since.
After severing his decades-old ties with the saffron party, Shettar now in his last leg of political career puts a Congress flag on his car and sets out for campaigning along with the party workers.
Trying to put the past aside, Shettar is meeting supporters and party workers at his home-office sitting in his regular sofa with two photos of Modi and Shah still hung on the wall behind.
In an interview to PTI while being seated on the same chair, Shettar asked, "what is so surprising about it," when queried why he has not removed the photos after exiting BJP.
He said: "Immediately after shifting from one party to another, removing photos of earlier leaders is not a good thing. I cannot do that."
In the past, Shettar and his wife have said several times they have respect for Modi and Shah.
Stating this would be his last assembly election, the six-time MLA said, "this election is a fight for my self-respect, not for political aspirations. As my self-respect was damaged, I joined the Congress for my own peace without putting conditions," he added.
BJP should have given an honourable exit for him by fielding him from here for the last time. "It did not happen due to General Secretary (Organisation) B L Santhosh who pushed for a ticket for his close associate and did all this drama," he claimed.
Shettar further said the poll ticket was denied also because there was apprehension he may claim number one position among Lingayats after former chief minister B S Yediyurappa.
Asked if he was facing difficulty in convincing voters as a Congress candidate now, he admitted facing some "embarrassment" in the beginning. Gradually, voters are realising when told he was denied a BJP ticket without any reason.
"Nobody knows why I was denied a ticket despite having popularity, age, no criminal background and no corruption/CDs. Whereas the BJP has given tickets to 75 year-old people, family members and those who have criminal background," he said.
Shettar mentioned he was receiving a positive public response so far and added, "I have still maintained popularity because of pro-development works. There is no anti-incumbency. I am confident of winning with a thumping majority this time."
He said there is a "miscommunication" that he won in the last six consecutive elections with support of BJP workers and Marathas.
Shettar shared that he first contested on a BJP ticket in 1994 and before that he nurtured the saffron party for three years. Then he became president of a party unit and later the state chief.
Asserting the BJP did not have an "address" here, he said prior to 1994, the saffron party did not have any existence in the region and that its candidates had lost their deposits. "I built the party and it has always been -- Shettar versus Congress."
The former chief minister also said he was not "power hungry" and if he was then he would have become a minister in the Basavaraj Bommai-led cabinet.
"Bommai is junior to me in politics. Immediately after his swearing-in as CM, I did not join the cabinet. I have been working as an MLA for the last two years."
On JD(S) leader C M Ibrahim's demand to probe Shettar's properties in and around Hubbali, he said, "I have not constructed any bungalow in Bengaluru."
"Here also, I have limited property within the legal purview. I am not a political leader worth Rs 1,000 crore. I don't have crores of transactions. These are all vague allegations."
Asked if his exit has affected son's political prospects in the BJP, Shettar said, "I always believe: one family, one power is sufficient..I am not going to insist that my children become my successor. If they have leadership and interest, they can grow."
With a week left for voting, the Congress leader said his family has taken this election as a personal challenge.
"More than me, my wife is working hard in this election. She is campaigning for me door-to-door," he added.
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3rd T20I: A three-match 'audition' starts for Gill to find his game back
Dharamsala (PTI): The countdown to save his place in the playing XI begins for a beleaguered Shubman Gill, who is likely to get three matches against South Africa to prove his worth before the Indian team management switches to a ‘Plan B’ ahead of the T20 World Cup, starting in six weeks.
As India gear up to play the third T20I against the Proteas on Sunday in sub-10-degree temperatures in the lap of the ice-clad Dhauladhar range, things are suddenly heating up in the Indian dressing room, with the prolonged poor form of skipper Suryakumar Yadav coming under the scanner.
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Worse, his deputy Shubman Gill, who was pushed into the XI at the expense of a settled Sanju Samson, is not inspiring much confidence.
The South African pace attack featuring Anrich Nortje, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, Ottniel Baartman and Lutho Sipamla — has shown how to bowl on Indian tracks, and the HPCA Stadium strip, offering extra bounce and some movement off the surface, will certainly keep them interested.
Among all T20 sides, South Africa, in terms of personnel, appears to have the requisite balance to win the trophy in the Indian subcontinent this time. Quinton de Kock’s return, along with the likes of Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Donovan Ferreira, David Miller and all-rounder Jansen, gives their batting an intimidating look.
With only eight games, starting from the third T20I, left before the start of the T20 World Cup title defence, India's under-fire head coach Gautam Gambhir won't be able to afford, two out-of-form top-order batters in the starting line-up.
Being the skipper of the side, Surya will certainly have immunity going into the T20 World Cup despite being completely out of form for the past one year but same can't be said about Gill, who wasn't the original choice as an opener.
Gill's entry into the T20 set-up was a classic case of trying to fix something that ain't broken and things haven't looked good so far.
In this backdrop, Gill would need to bat out of his skin to prove that Ajit Agarkar-led committee wasn't wrong in throwing Samson under the bus for one bad series against England.
The stylish Indian Test and ODI skipper will have to find his T20 game and at least score in two of the three matches if he doesn't want Samson to get his rightful place back or for that matter, find Yashasvi Jaiswal, with a fabulous T20I strike-rate of 165, enter the fray during New Zealand series.
Lack of clarity
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While head coach Gambhir is too proud a person to admit but sending Axar Patel as a one drop batter during the second T20I was a "tactical brain fade" from the team's think-tank.
The kind misstep that was taken with Axar's promotion is unlikely to be repeated in the third game where skipper is expected to go back to No.3 where he has got a lot of success in his first few years at the international level.
Similarly, Shivam Dube being sent at number eight due to the shuffling of batting order was another poor call which would need course correction in the next game.
Is there a place for Kuldeep Yadav?
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Kuldeep Yadav is one bowler who has consistently troubled the Proteas batter but in an Indian team where batting till No. 8 is non-negotiable, the left-arm wrist spinner often finds himself getting the rough end of the stick.
At Dharamsala too, he might have to sit out as Kuldeep and Varun Chakravarthy, two non-batters can't be clubbed in the same T20 playing eleven as that would lead to compromise in batting depth.
While Arshdeep hasn't had a good series so far, it will be interesting to find if team management can find a place for Kuldeep in the playing eleven with Hardik Pandya sharing the new ball with Jasprit Bumrah.
The five-match series is currently tied 1-1.
Teams:
India: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, NT Tilak Verma, Axar Patel, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Sanju Samson (wk), Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (captain), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Dewald Brevis, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Donovan Ferreira, Marco Jansen, Lutho Sipamla, Ottniel Baartman, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi, Corbin Bosch, Keshav Maharaj, George Linde.
Match Starts at 7 pm.
