Bengaluru: Terming B.S. Yeddyurappa as not at all a Lungayat leader but as a merchant of Lingayat talks, Hire Kerur MLA B.C. Patil on Tuesday told press reporters that under BJP and Yeddyurappa’s 3 years rule (2008-2011), the Veershaivas suffered a lot in life.

No improvement was done to their living. He is not the unquestioned leader of Lingayats, but he exploited the Sympathy wave that flushed out in the wake of what fraud JD-S CM H.D. Kumaraswamy had committed against him, in 2006-07 before state elections.

Patil announced that there were over 35 leaders 15 of them from Congress MLAs alone, and others like-minded and even former ministers had decided to strengthen Sharad Pawar’s National Congress party by joining the state NCP unit in near future.

Talks are going on. But Congress (Sonia) Party will have no future in Karnataka, if it continues to pursue its old policies and neglect Veerashaiva Voters, Patil rued.