Karnataka: Modi-Shah decided to replace Shettar, Santhosh had no role, says Pralhad Joshi

Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pralhad Joshi on Monday said the decision to replace former chief minister Jagadish Shettar with a younger face was taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking to clear the air on the subject.

Joshi's clarification comes in the wake of Shettar's repeated attacks on BJP national general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh, accusing him of plotting a conspiracy to deny him the ticket. Santhosh, he had said, wanted to give the ticket to his protégé Mahesh Tenginkai.

Shettar, a six-term MLA from Hubballi-Dharwad Central, is contesting from the same constituency on a Congress ticket this time.


The union minister, who represents the Dharwad Lok Sabha constituency, told the media in Hubballi that the decision to replace Shettar was taken by the central leadership. "I want to clarify this. The PM-Shah wanted a new generation to come." Shah, Joshi added, even offered the former CM a membership in Rajya Sabha or any other role he wished. The union home minister even asked Shettar to nominate a candidate of his choice to the seat, but Shettar was unrelenting.

"Could there have been a better offer than this (to Shettar)?" Joshi said.

Shettar, the union minister said, was aware of these facts, yet he chose to attack Santhosh because he knows very well that people would turn against him if he were to take Modi's name.

Santhosh, as the national general secretary in charge of organisation, had engaged himself with building the party at the grassroots level. Shettar had unnecessarily dragged his name into this, he said.