Bengaluru: Former BJP leader Jagdish Shettar, who crossed over to the Congress, after being denied a ticket to contest the Karnataka assembly elections has lost to the BJP's Mahesh Tenginakai by nearly 30,000 votes in the Hubli-Dharwad Central assembly segment.

The disgruntled leader stirred quite a storm within the BJP, forcing top leaders of the party like Pralhad Joshi, BJP’s Karnataka in-charge Dharmendra Pradhan, and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to hold closed-door meetings to pacify him and retain him in the party.

Shettar's decision to resign from the primary membership of the BJP came after he was denied a ticket to contest in the upcoming election from the Hubli-Dharwad (Central) constituency, which he had represented in the previous Assembly.

Shettar had held various high-ranking positions in the party, including six-time MLA, former Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, ex-Speaker, and party president.

The 67-year-old Lingayat leader was being watched closely in the political arena, especially because he had claimed that his exit will cost BJP 23-25 seats.

Despite Congress’s stellar performance, Shettar failed to make a mark as he faced defeat in the hands of the party, he was associated with for more than three decades.

Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, who is a prominent Lingayat leader in Karnataka, criticised Shettar, accusing him of making an error.

"We had promised him Rajya Sabha membership and we would make him a minister at the Centre. Amit Shah himself spoke to Shettar. I think he made a mistake leaving the party. We wholeheartedly supported him almost every time," Yediyurappa told NDTV.