“BJP leaders are approaching the Congress leaders in various parts of the state. BJP will deteriorate further,” he said.On the non-appointment of BJP state president, Shettar said, “The situation in which BJP is going through shows that it is without a leader. BJP is leaderless in Karnataka and that is the reason why it has not picked a new state president so far. BJP’s appalling situation will further deteriorate in the state.”

Shettar further said that many leaders in the BJP want to “come out of the party.” “BJP leaders are approaching the Congress leaders in various parts of the state. BJP will deteriorate further,” he said.

The former CM denied the speculations that Union Minister Amit Shah spoke to him over the phone and said that nobody from the BJP high command contacted him.”There is mishandling and mismanagement in BJP,’’ he said while stating that leaders like him too have been “ejected” by that party. Shettar further said that the Congress party will win the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

‘‘Congress will get about 12 to 15 seats from Karnataka and looking at the current state of affairs, Congress may bag even more than 15 seats. It will not be a surprise. People are enthusiastic at every taluk and district level to join the Congress,” he added.

Speaking to the reporters after inaugurating an interaction programme titled ‘Sustainable industrial development and tourism promotion in Coastal Karnataka’, he said, “If the Hubli-Ankola railway line is realised, it will boost the commercial activities in Karwar. The Belekeri port should be also developed so that the entrepreneurs of the North Karnataka region can export their goods via Belekeri port instead of depending on Mumbai and Goa ports as they are doing currently. This will be a more profitable venture for entrepreneurs of North Karnataka.”Shettar said that environmentalists by filing the Public Interest Litigations (PILs) tried to stop the Hubli-Ankola railway line project citing the reason that there is forest land and it will cause harm to the environment.

‘‘I recently met the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav to seek clearance for the project through the intervention of the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL). Further, based on a recent High Court direction, the South Western Railway division has also come forward to submit a revised DPR for the project. If all clearances are obtained, the project is likely to be a reality soon,” he said.