New Delhi: Merely hours after the Supreme Court allowed the 17 disqualified Karnataka MLAs to contest the by-polls, state Deputy Chief Minister CN Ashwath Narayan on Wednesday said they will join the BJP on Thursday. "They all will join the BJP on November 14 in the presence of chief minister BS Yediyurappa and state party president Nalin Kumar Kateel," Narayan said.

When asked whether the disqualified MLAs will contest the upcoming bypolls in Karnataka, Narayan said, "Let them join the party first." Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court upheld the disqualification of the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs whose rebellion led to the fall of the Kumaraswamy government and the return of the BJP to power in July, but allowed them to contest the upcoming bypolls to 15 assembly seats.