His proximity to Congress leader Madhu Bangarappa, his severed ties with the Janata Dal(S) and the reluctance of the saffron party to take him back seem to have made the former Minister Anand Asnotikar to openly declare that he canvassed for the Congress during the recent Assembly elections, indicating his willingness to rejoin the party that he quit in 2008.
Recently, Mr. Asnotikar openly declared that he did canvass for Congress candidates R.V. Deshpande and Satish Sail during the Assembly elections, in which both the leaders won.
Mr. Asnotikar also mentioned that he did it on the advice of Congress leader Madhu Bangarappa (who won from Soraba), whom he considers as his elder brother.
In his statement to the media, Mr. Asnotikar had claimed that it was his family’s association with the Bangarappa family that made him decide to canvass for the Congress.
While the senior Asnotikar was a follower of S. Bangarappa, Anand Asnotikar himself was closely associated with Madhu Bangarappa when he was in the Janata Dal(S).
Mr. Madhu Bangarappa has also reportedly assured Mr. Asnotikar of getting him suitable responsibility in the party.
Mr. Asnotikar had claimed that he had canvassed for the Congress candidates extensively in Karwar-Ankola constituency and in Joida in Haliyal constituency.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had campaigned for the BJP leaders in these segments.
The announcement has, naturally, not gone down well with the local BJP leaders and workers who are up in arms against him now.
In the executive committee meeting of the BJP held in Sirsi recently, the workers openly opposed taking Mr. Asnotikar back into the party fold. They also resolved to oppose any move by the party to allow him to contest the next parliamentary elections on BJP ticket.
Amid these developments, Mr. Asnotikar is yet to make any announcement on what will be his next step. Although he has openly expressed his inclination towards the Congress, he seems to be waiting for the right signal from the right people in the Congress.
Having won Karwar constituency on Congress ticket in 2008, Mr. Asnotikar resigned from the party and from the Assembly to join the then ruling BJP to become a Minister. Although he won the byelection from Karwar, he could not repeat the same feat in the 2013 elections.
In the 2018 elections, he unsuccessfully contested on Janata Dal(S) ticket. His attempt to enter Parliament on Janata Dal(S) ticket in 2021 too failed. He had stayed away from contesting in the 2023 Assembly elections.
