BENGALURU: With too many claimants for Council seats and the number of aspirants only increasing in the BJP, the party is looking at a please-all formula. Nominations are expected to be filed next week.
Since Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa is the undisputed leader in Karnataka, and it was under his leadership that the party came to power, the national leadership is leaving four seats to which elections will be held, to Yediyurappa’s discretion.
Yediyurappa, who has 117 MLAs in the Assembly, and enjoys the support of Independent MLA Sharath Bachegowda, will be able to push his four MLC candidates through. One source said that a list of five names for the nomination seats is expected to be sent to the high command. Achievers from among the BJP’s ranks are likely to be shortlisted, and ideologues and those who matter for the party structure may be chosen.
Finally, it is the party decision on who is to be a nominated member, and who will be an elected member. Going by the Rajya Sabha election where the BJP did not disturb the other parties by propping up an independent candidate, the party strategy appears to be non-confrontationist. A party insider said not more than four candidates will be nominated for the election.
The Congress is not expected to propose more than two candidates, and the JDS one member. Earlier, there was talk that the Congress support might ask the Dal for its lone Council seat, in exchange for support to elect former PM Deve Gowda to the Rajya Sabha, but sources on either side said that the JDS will get to keep its seat. Voting will be by single-preference vote and each MLA can choose one candidate for first preference and one candidate for second preference.
RAJYA Sabha candidates elected unopposed
Former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda, Congress veteran leader Mallikarjun Kharge, BJP leaders Ashok Gasti and Eranna Kadadi were elected unopposed to the Rajya Sabha on Friday. Though elections were scheduled on June 19, the returning officer declared the results after the end of the last date for withdrawal of nominations. Only four candidates had contested for the four seats, making it an easy entry into Parliament for all of them. With 117 BJP MLAs, Gasti and Kadadi won comfortably, Kharge too won with his party’s support of 68 MLAs. Gowda, with 34 JDS MLAs, got support from the Congress.