Miffed Karnataka minister Shobha Karandlaje to quit BJP

Power minister and former Karnataka chief minister B S Yeddyurappa loyalist Shobha Karandlaje is all set to announce her exit from the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Karandlaje is said to be upset over not being invited for the chintan-manthan baithak of the BJP held last Saturday, which was chaired by Venkaiah Naidu and Dharmendra Pradhan. It was at this meeting that an announcement was made to field Jagadish Shettar as the chief ministerial candidate for the next elections.

Around 24 Yeddyurappa loyalists have alleged that they were left out of the meeting. The BJP, however, has claimed that not all leaders were invited for the meeting.

Though a Yeddyurappa loyalist, Shobha had stayed on in the BJP and had planned on joining her mentor only at the turn of the elections. Yeddyurappa had said that he would wait until January 15 before he takes a decision on the future of the BJP government in Karnataka.