Udupi: Bharatiya Janata Party State General Secretary and former Minister V Sunil Kumar met the disgruntled former MLA K Raghupathi Bhat on Tuesday, after Bhat announced that he would contest the upcoming council election from the South West Graduates’ constituency.
During their meeting, the former minister had an elaborate discussion with the former MLA and tried to persuade him. However, Raghupathi Bhat reportedly stated that he would not change his decision and would not retract from his decision to contest the council election.
Speaking to reporters later, Sunil Kumar said, “He will not support any decision by Raghupathi Bhat that goes against the BJP without considering the party. Bhat has expressed a desire to contest the council election, and I advised him not to make any hasty decisions.”
“I spoke to him over the phone a few times, and today I came to meet him personally. Bhat shared many issues with me. He did not make any adverse decisions when he was denied a ticket during the Assembly election and worked for the party. I requested him to work for the party in the upcoming election as well. I tried to convince him,” he added.
Sunil Kumar expressed uncertainty about whether Bhat would agree to his advice but stated that he would report to the party high command and the state BJP president about the meeting. They will explore other alternatives to pacify him.
Explaining the ticket distribution issue, which arose due to the alliance with the JD(S), Sunil Kumar said that the party had to make some inevitable decisions in such situations. He mentioned that there are still 2-3 days left to setright the issue, and state leaders will initiate a second round of talks. He expressed confidence that the issue would be resolved through dialogue.
Council Polls: Ex-BJP MLA K Raghupathi Bhat to Contest Independently
