IANS

Bangalore, Jun 11: Liquor baron Vijay Mallay's bid to enter the Rajya Sabha for the second time from Karnataka as an Independent rests on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as the Congress did not withdraw its second nominee Thursday leaving five candidates in the fray for four seats.

Thursday was the last day for withdrawal of nominations for the June 17 poll.

Two nominees of the BJP, former national president M. Venkaiah Naidu and state leader Ayanur Manjunath are sure of victory as the party has 116 members in the 225-member assembly and has the backing of five of the six Independents.

A candidate requires 45 first preference votes of the legislators, who make up the electoral college, to win.

The BJP will be left with 26 surplus votes which Mallya, backed by the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) which has 27 members in the assembly, hopes will let him sail through.

The Congress with 74 members is assured of one seat for which it has re-nominated party general secretary and former union minister Oscar Fernandes.

It has also fielded T.V. Maruthi, a Karnataka businessman, as its second nominee and retained him in the field to give Mallya a fight.

BJP state leaders, Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and party president K.S. Eshwarappa, have not given any indication so far on supporting Mallya.

"We will go by the decision of our central leaders," Yeddyurappa and Eshwarappa have been saying since Mallya filed his papers Monday, the last day for doing so.

The Congress decision not to withdraw Maruthi from the contest was intended to convey to the JD-S that its nominee cannot have a cake walk and depend on the BJP for win, a senior party leader said on condition of anonymity.

Congress is upset with JD-S as it did not back the party's first choice for the second seat, general secretary B.K. Hariprasad.

The JD-S opposed renomination of Hariprasad saying he had often attacked its president and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda.

With the collapse of the effort for electoral understanding with Congress, the JD-S decided to back Mallya as an Independent.

Mallya has said he is confident of winning as "I have friends in all parties". He had won as Independent in 2002.