Lok Sabha elections: Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, a former Congress MLA, has joined the BJP

A few days before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, on Wednesday, R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy, a former Congress MLA for Pulakeshinagar, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Bengaluru.

After not being given a ticket to run in the Assembly elections of the previous year, he had left the Congress party. According to PTI, Murthy later joined the fight with a BSP ticket but was unsuccessful.

Among the other politicians who greeted him warmly upon joining the party were BJP veteran and former Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa and Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje.

“We stood with him (earlier), today he has joined our party, and he has strengthened our party,” Yediyurappa said upon his admission. R Akhanda Srinivas Murthy has a great deal of popularity; millions of people back him.

Karandlaje is running for Lok Sabha in the next elections from the Pulakeshinagar Assembly seat, which is part of the Bangalore North Lok Sabha region. Murthy was a Pulakeshinagar MLA in the past.

Yediyurappa said at the time, “Srinivas Murthy joining BJP before the elections has given the party a big strength.” He went on, “Shobha Karandlaje is going to win by a margin of 2.5 lakh to three lakh votes.”