Dr Shushrutha, a neurologist from Mysuru, had recently been appointed as General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC).
Dr Shushrutha Gowda, once lauded for walking from Kanyakumari to Kashmir alongside Wayanad MP Rahul Gandhi during the Bharat Jodo Yatra, has abandoned the Congress for the BJP. Dr Shushrutha, a well-known neurologist from Mysuru, had recently been appointed as General Secretary of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), making his defection all the more surprising.
He was welcomed by Radha Mohan Das Agarwal, the BJP”s election in-charge, at the BJP office in Bengaluru. While his move may add another figure from the Vokkaliga community to the BJP, it raises concerns about political opportunism and ideological integrity.
His reason for his switch to the BJP, he said, was the “vision and mission” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and BJP President JP Nadda.
Dr Shushrutha, whose Instagram bio says “walked 3500+ kms across India in 5.5 months for a better nation”, told reporters, “My goal is to serve people and I felt BJP is the best party to realise my dream. BJP has the right people, right platform, and is known to provide opportunities to people with real commitment for the cause of society.”
He then claimed that the Congress is “dividing society on caste lines through dirty tricks”.
KPCC spokesperson HA Venkatesh downplayed Dr Shushrutha’s departure won’t impact Congress as “he was not active in party organisation”.
Talking about the Congress’ flagship yatra, Dr Shushrutha had In February last year said that it helped him understand the ground realities and sent out the message of unity.
Returning to India after a stint abroad, Dr Shushrutha said he was confronted with a stark reality of division and discord. The once-familiar landscape had transformed into a tableau of societal fractures, marked by daily reports of violence, atrocities, economic struggles, and systemic corruption.
Dr Shushrutha, who was treating the yatris, added that people walking for the cause didn’t pay heed to their pain. “The most memorable moment in the yatra was the involvement of the women, children in this yatra. In Jammu and Kashmir, even though the temperature was -2 degree Celsius, people joined us in a big number,” he said.
Praising the intent of the yatra, he said “when we started, we did not expect such support”. “In Kanyakumari, over 20,000 people joined us and this was a huge momentum. When we entered Kerala, the response was greater because Congress has a strong cadre base there. People were interested and enthusiastic and they walked with us. In Karnataka, the response was humongous as people are fed up with the current dispensation. The overwhelming response went on and on until Jammu and Kashmir. People were coming to see this gentleman (Rahul Gandhi) who is walking all the way from Kanyakumari to Kashmir.”
On why he joined the yatra, he had said that he wanted to do something to “express my protest against the current situation in India, be it a communal divide where people are using some agenda to kill each other, unemployment, worsening economic situation, women empowerment issues and journalists being put in jail.”
Sharing his impressions of Rahul Gandhi, Dr Shushrutha had dismissed misconceptions about the leader, highlighting his commitment to social impact, economic development, and rural healthcare.
“I feel that he is generally interested in the social impact, economic, rural health and he is very much interested to improve each and every aspect. So definitely whatever has been painted on him is false. No leader in the last few decades had the guts to face the people like him. He conducted many media interactions, asking questions, answering questions and involving people. He is very good at it. He can easily connect with people, media and it is the media who should answer this question,” he told reporters.
