BENGALURU: With the last day to file nominations for four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka barely a week away, the BJP is facing a problem of plenty. Even as the State Core Committee is yet to meet and shortlist names of probable candidates to be sent to the party high command, more names are joining the fray every day.
With the compulsion of at least one Lingayat candidate from North Karnataka, senior party leader and media honcho Vijay Sankeshwar has thrown his hat in the ring. Two leaders from Belagavi – Prabhakar Kore and Ramesh Katti – are already vying for the seat that will fall vacant following the end of Kore’s tenure.
Another big name that has caught the attention of the BJP high command is former ICICI Bank Chairman Kundapur Vaman Kamath. At a time when the Union government needs economists and financial experts to help bring the growth trajectory back on track, Kamath is being looked at as an asset. The Mangaluru-based banker was handpicked by the Narendra Modi government in 2016 to be the first chief of BRICS New Development Bank. He is also said to be a favourite of the Sangh.
“In principle, when there are two vacant seats, the State unit is given one seat to pick a candidate, while the Central leadership unilaterally decides a candidate for the second seat. But this time, since the party has enough seats in non-southern States to elect RS members from, the State might have a say in candidates for both seats,” said a senior BJP leader. While the list of probable candidates is extending by the day, the first official discussion on candidate selection is yet to begin between Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa and BJP State Chief Nalin Kumar Kateel.