Tejaswini Ananth Kumar, the wife of the late Union Minister and BJP leader Ananth Kumar, met Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Monday, sparking speculation that she could be joining the Congress. However, Tejaswini denied the rumors, saying that she met Shivakumar to discuss "state political issues." She also said that she is still a member of the BJP and has no plans to leave the party.
The meeting between Tejaswini and Shivakumar comes after she was denied a ticket to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha elections and the 2022 Karnataka Assembly elections. She has also been critical of the BJP leadership in Karnataka in recent months.
Tejaswini Ananth Kumar is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is currently the vice-president of the Karnataka BJP unit. She has been a vocal critic of the Congress party in the past, and her meeting with DK Shivakumar was seen by many as a sign that she was considering a change of party.
In a statement after the meeting, DK Shivakumar said that the two leaders had discussed "state political issues." He denied that the meeting was about Tejaswini Ananth Kumar joining the Congress Party.
Taking to the microblogging site, the senior Congress leader, in Kannada, wrote, "Smt @Tej_AnanthKumar wife of senior BJP leader Dr Ananth Kumar, met me today at Kumara Krupa guest house and discussed state political issues."
Tejaswini Ananth Kumar has not yet commented on her political future. However, her meeting with DK Shivakumar has led to increased speculation that she could be the next high-profile BJP leader to defect to the Congress party.
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