JDS MLAs Manappa Vajjal and Dr Shivaraj Patil today resigned from their assembly membership and joined BJP, ahead of assembly poll in Karnataka this year.
Vajjal and Patil, representing Lingasugur and Raichur constituencies, submitted their resignation letters to Assembly Secretary S Murthy, as Speaker K B Koliwad was not available at his office.
"As Speaker was not available in his office, both of them have submitted their resignation letters to me stating that they are voluntarily resigning. I will send it to the Speaker," Murthy told PTI.
The leaders alleged that they were being "sidelined" in the JDS.
Vajjal and Patil joined BJP in the presence of BJP state unit chief B S Yeddyurappa, Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Ananth Kumar and party General Secretaryin-charge of Karnataka Muralidhar Rao.
Welcoming them to the party, Yeddyurappa said there was "big list" of legislators from JDS and Congress who wanted to join BJP and this was only a beginning.
"This also reflects that people across the state are favouring BJP....their (Vajjal and Patil) joining will strengthen the party in Raichur region" he told reporters.
Stating that JDS cannot come to power as its presence was restricted to a small region, Goyal said people in Karnataka who were "saddened by corruption" were looking for change.
There was a wave in favour of BJP, Yeddyurappa and PrimeMinister Narendra Modi for clean government, he said.
BJP on its own strength would get two third majority in the coming election, he said.
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