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Former CM Shettar’s wife describes his departure from the BJP as an emotionally painful process
HUBLI-DHARWAD: Minds often fail where hearts speak. The framed photographs of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PM Narendra Modi, and other BJP leaders hanging on the walls inside former CM and BJP turncoat Jagadish Shettar’s home in Hubli’s Keshwapur can barely hide the three-decade-strong, evocative relationship of the family with the Sangh Parivar. This, with barely days to go for the May 10 polls as Karnataka prepares to vote in a high-tension election war.
Jagdish Shettar, the Lingayat strongman, is the man of the moment as the polls and their results are being said to pivot around him. But it’s his wife who is unable to contain her emotions, turning her speech into a cauldron of strong memories, making it difficult to know if the switch to Congress is by heart or hurt.
“My husband had been in the BJP for 30 years. It was our home. But since he was denied a ticket, he had no option but to leave. The BJP is not bad,” says 55-year-old Shilpa Shettar, who has been actively campaigning in support of her husband.
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Her eyes well up, and she struggles to find appropriate words as she recounts the “betrayal” by some leaders of the Karnataka BJP. “We have kept photos of BJP veterans because they were good to us. They didn’t betray us. It is just 4-5 people in the state BJP who conspired against us.”
“Vajpayee Ji, Modi Ji, and Amit Shah Ji didn’t betray us. So we have kept their photographs as a symbol of respect and gratitude and pray to them as God (joins hands together),” she tells The New Indian.
Shilpa calls the BJP their “ghar” (home) to sum up their relationship with the saffron party. “We had been working in the BJP when it was known as Jan Sangh. My father-in-law Shivappa Shivamurthappa Shettar was also an active member of the BJP,” she says, blaming “circumstances” for their switch to the Congress.
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She admits that the decision to leave the BJP was “difficult” but expresses confidence that her husband will win. “Because voters and supporters keep him and his works in mind, not the party.”
Shilpa, who is closely involved in decision-making and campaign strategy, says the Congress was the natural destination for Shettar because “contesting as an independent was not a feasible option”.
“However, now that we have left home, there is no going back to the BJP,” she declares.
She also refutes BJP leaders’ claim that the former chief minister was offered a Cabinet berth at the Centre. “They did not offer him any role at the Centre. Instead, they offered me a ticket. But how can I accept it if my husband is hurt?”
