Elimination of one candidate in RS, Council polls becomes inevitable

From Our Special Correspondent

Daijiworld Media Network

Bengaluru, Jun 3: The biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council from Karnataka’s Legislative Assembly are interestingly poised as one candidate more than the number of seats going to polls remained in the fray, on the last day for withdrawal of nominations.

Elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats and seven Council seats from the State Assembly are scheduled to be held on July 11 and 10 respectively.

Five candidates - former Union Ministers Oscar Fernandes Jairam Ramesh, retired IPS officer K.C. Ramamurthy, (all Congress), B.M. Farooq of JD(S) and Union Minister for State Commerce NirmalaSitharaman (BJP)– are in fray for the biennial elections to be held for four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka on June 11.

Eight candidates remained in the fray in the biennial elections to seven seats of the Legislative Council from the Legislative Assembly on June 10.

With this, elections would be held for both Legislative Council and Rajya Sabha seats and the question of elimination of one of the candidates in both the polls could pose a big challenge to all parties as keeping all their MLAs together and vote for the official candidates might prove risky, if the allegations of big money operations turn out to be true.

B R Anil Kumar, Congress rebel candidate, who filed papers in the council elections, has withdrawn his nomination on Friday.

Candidates in the fray for Council seats are: State youth Congress president Rizwan Arshad and former Kodagu Zilla Panchayat president Veena Achaiah, former KPCC chief AllamVeerabhadrappa and former minister R B Thimmapur (Congress), K V Narayanaswamy and S M Venkatapathy, JD(S), V Sommanna and Lehar Singh (BJP).

With all three major political parties fielding their candidates for both Rajya Sabha and Council seats, election is expected to be a keen contest among candidates for fourth seats of the Rajya Sabha and the seventh seat of the Council.

The number of votes required to win a candidate in Rajya Sabha is pegged at 45, while the number of votes required to win a candidate in the Council elections is 29.

In the Rajya Sabha, independents and members of smaller parties have promised to support the third candidate of the Congress.

The JD(S), which has short of five votes to ensure victory of its candidate in Rajya Sabha elections, has appealed to independents to cast vote as per their conscience.

Cong blames JD(S) for horse-trading

Meanwhile, the State Congress has blamed the JD(S) leaders, following a sting operation, which showed four MLAs, including two of JD(S), allegedly seeking bribes ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections.

The ruling party said it is an open secret that former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy led JD(S) has not been able to keep its flock together.

Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee President and Energy Minister and senior Congress leader D. K. Shivakumar said none of the Congress leaders were involved.

However, the JD(S) leader and former Minister H D Revanna demanded a CBI probe into the sting operation and denied his party legislators seeking bribes for casting their votes in Rajya Sabha elections.

JD(S) spokesperson Ramesh Babu requested the Election Commission to take serious note on the corrupt practice going on in the Rajya Sabhya polls and sought a proper inquiry.

Revanna said the Election Commission should not shut its eyes and it should take note of developments in the State on the eve of Rajya Sabha polls. The ruling Congress was uring JD(S) legislators, he alleged.

EC has not sought any report so far

Meanwhile, the Election Commission has not sought any report form the Chief Electoral Office of the Karnataka about alleged seeking of money by legislators, said CEO Anil Kumar Jha.

Congress leader and minister Shivakumar said “Why the Congress needs horse-trading? Though the JD(S) has 40 numbers, it could not keep the flock together. It is an open secret. But still we are not worried about JD(S), it is the JD(S) to look it out.”

On Thursday evening, a group of MLAs were shown by a television news channel purportedly demanding money in crores for supporting a candidate in the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections.

The Rajya Sabha elections to four seats would be held on June 11 is witnessing an intense fight between B.M. Farooq of the JD(S) and K. C. Ramamurthy of the Congress.