Bangalore: Sadananda Gowda Chooses to Become MLC

Daijiworld Media Network – Bangalore (SP)

Bangalore, Oct 10: It is almost certain that Karnataka Chief Minister, D V Sadananda Gowda (DVS), will resign from his membership of the Lok Sabha soon, and opt to get elected to the state legislative council.  It is mandatory for a person who is sworn in as a minister, to get elected to either the state legislative assembly or council within six months thereafter. DVS has completed two months in his post.

MLC Shankarappa has agreed to sacrifice his post for paving way for Gowda’s election. In return for this gesture, he has been offered the post of the chairmanship of Karnataka State Backward Classes Commission, which has remained vacant for the last two years, it is said.

When contacted, Shankarappa confirmed that the party leaders had discussed with him the issue of his resignation and about the offer of the above post. He said that being a loyal party activist, he will bow to the decision of the leadership.

Shankarappa, who hails from Raichur, has been with the BJP since the Jan Sangh days. He was picked by DVS as a candidate for legislative council election, considering his contribution to the party, when the latter was the state BJP president. Shankarappa is a lawyer since the last three decades. The remainder of his term as MLC is two and half years, while he will get a post which is eligible for pay, perquisites, and allowances equal to that of a High Court judge, for three years.

Two more MLCs, Bharati Shetty and Siddaraju, too are prepared to forgo their memberships in favour of the CM, it is said. As the party leaders were hunting for a suitable candidate for the post of the chairmanship of the above commission, they opted to seek Shankakrappa’s resignation, after finding him to be a suitable candidate. Yeddyurappa, Eshwarappa, and DVS already have held discussions with Shankarappa in this connection, it is learnt.

Since the very beginning, both DVS and the BJP were disinclined to take the assembly election route. Assembly election entails lot of work, and the government will have to suspend its functioning for nearly two months to ensure the victory for its candidate, as it becomes a prestige issue.

At the same time, the opposition parties will also fight tooth and nail to defeat the candidate fielded by the ruling party. Even if the candidate of the ruling party wins, the opposition accuses misuse of government machinery. To obviate these problems and also taking into consideration that the remaining term of the government is around one and half years, becoming MLC is felt to be the best option for DVS.