Bangalore: Business tycoon Vijay Mallya who quit Akhila Bharata Janata Dal (ABJD) miffed over being "isolated" by its leadership, on April 14 announced that he has joined Janata Party, accepting the party presidentship post.

"The Janata Party National Executive meeting in Bangalore recently had offered the post of national working president to me. I have conveyed formal acceptance of the post. I am now its president", said Mallya, whose exit from ABJD is as dramatic as his entry into Janata Party.

Letting known his sense of "hurt" over the resentment of the state leadership towards him "right from day one" when he joined Janata Dal – United (JD-U) early last year, Mallya said his decision to join Janata Party of Dr Subramaniam Swamy was irrevocable despite efforts of former prime minister and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) president H D Deve Gowda and some state ABJD leaders to persuade him to change his decision.

Taking pot-shots at the state leadership of ABJD of which he was the senior national vice-president, he said his efforts to unite JD (U) and JD (S) had failed not because of lack of efforts on his part but because there were "too many people with personal agenda”.

"First of all, there was resentment about my appointment as vice-president of JD (U). People did not have the guts to tell Ramakrishna Hegde that they resented my appointment. Neither did they tell me. But they conveniently issued statements creating public controversy."

PTI