Senior Congress leader and former minister Gurupadappa nagamaarapalli  resigned from the Assembly membership, formally joined the BJP. Sources in the BJP said the party would gain strength in the Hyderabad Karnataka region with the entry of the Congress leader.
After discussions with Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha L.K. Advani who was here on Wednesday to participate in a programme at Tumkur, Mr. Nagamarapalli met Speaker Jagadish Shettar and submitted his resignation. The Speaker announced that the resignation had been accepted.
Speaking to reporters later, Nagamarapalli said that he decided to join the BJP, duly appreciating the development initiatives undertaken by chief minister Yeddyurappa and his government. “The country is at the cross roads and terrorism has been posing a major challenge to the country. I appreciate the stand of BJP on this issue and have enormous respect for Advani,” he explained.  He also clarified, that issuing a Loksabha ticket or otherwise to him is entirely left to the choice of the BJP leadership and that he was not lured by any offers. Nagamarapalli will soon be organizing a mega public meeting in Bidar where he will be announcing his decision to join the BJP.