Arun Kumar Puthila, leader of Puthila Parivar, rejoins BJP

Arun Kumar Puthila rejoins BJP after leading breakaway faction, pledging support for Narendra Modi as Prime Minister.

Arun Kumar Puthila, leader of the Puthila Parivar, the breakaway faction of the BJP, rejoined the parent party here on Saturday, March 16.

He who came second by contesting as an Independent candidate in the 2023 Assembly election from the Puttur constituency in Dakshina Kannada after the BJP denied him the party ticket relegated the saffron party to the third position.

Mr. Puthila, as an Independent candidate, and the BJP candidate Asha Thimmappa Gowda, polled nearly 59% of votes while the Congress candidate Ashok Kumar Rai polled about 37% of votes. Mr. Puthila’s contest resulted in the Congress bagging the Puttur Assembly seat.

The Parivar, comprising rebel RSS and BJP workers, were unhappy over the BJP fielding Ms. Gowda, a former president of Dakshina Kannada Zilla Panchayat, particularly on the basis of “caste calculations”. The breakaway faction wanted an “aggressive candidate who could uphold Hindutva.” The parivar has been keen to “cut Nalin Kumar Kateel, the then president of BJP’s State unit, to size” as he also hails from Puttur belt.

With Mr. Kateel out of the race in the April 26 Lok Sabha election, the breakaway faction members returned to party fold on Saturday after several rounds of talks between them and the BJP.

President of Dakshina Kannada unit of the BJP Satish Kumpala welcomed him and his followers to the party by offering them membership at the party’s election office.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kumpala said that the Puthila Parivar ceased to exist henceforth. All will work for the victory of the party’s Lok Sabha candidate Brijesh Chowta in the constituency, he said.