Former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Jagadish Shettar, who recently resigned from the party to join the Congress in Karnataka, met Rahul Gandhi, who is on a two-day visit to north Karnataka, at Hubballi. This was the first meeting between the two leaders since Shettar’s switch to the Congress party. Shettar called his meeting with Rahul Gandhi ‘cordial’.
First meeting with Rahul Gandhi was cordial and we discussed many issues and the political scenarios happening in Karnataka. I came to join Congress because everyone knows the ill-treatment given by the BJP. So, I have shifted to another national party. Rahul Gandhi is the leader of that party. So, I discussed many things,”

On April 19, Jagadish Shettar filed his nomination from the Hubli-Dharwad-Central Assembly constituency for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections. He had resigned from the BJP on April 16. Shettar had earlier expressed disappointment over the party asking him not to contest the polls and make way for younger leaders. Shettar has represented the Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency for six terms since 1994.