BALLARI: Desertions continue in the BJP after the third list was announced on Monday evening. In Vijayanagara district, Kodihalli Bhimanna of Kudligi and Nemiraj Naik of Hagaribommanahalli have quit the party on Tuesday after failing to get the tickets for the May 10 Assembly polls.
While Bhimanna joined the JD(S) and will contest from that party, supporters of Nemiraj Naik insisted that he should constest as a rebel candidate. Naik has already submitted his nomination without the B-form.
Naik, along with his wife, held a meeting with his supporters in front of his house wherein the couple became teary-eyed in front of the crowd. Many of the supporters who were upset that he was denied a ticket too wept. The meeting went on past 3 am on Tuesday and the supporters insisted that Naik contest the polls as a rebel candidate.