Bangalore: After losing its head office in Bangalore to the Congress, the JDS has suffered another setback on Thursday. It has lost Leader of the Opposition post in the Assembly to the BJP. With the merger of former chief minister BS Yeddyurappa's KJP, the strength of the BJP has gone up from 40 to 44 MLAs.
In May 2013 Assembly elections, both the BJP and the JDS won 40 seats each. Since the JDS vote share was higher than the BJP, former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy became leader of the opposition in the Assembly. He has now lost his post and likely to contest in the Lok Sabha polls, hoping that he can join any formation that comes to power at the Centre. Out of Yeddyurappa's six MLAs, two have refused to join the BJP, calling it a communal party.
Karnataka Assembly Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa has announced that former chief minister Jagadish Shettar will be the new leader of opposition in the Assembly. Shettar was earlier leader of the opposition between 1999-2004 during the regime of SM Krishna.
If Yeddyurappa decides against contesting in the Lok Sabha elections from his home town Shimoga, Shettar may lose leader of the opposition post to him.
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