BENGALURU: It appears there was much more to the bonhomie and lunch JDS supremo HD Deve Gowda shared with KPCC President on his birthday last week. Estranged allies Congress and JDS are likely to come together again for mutual gain in the Rajya Sabha elections, coming up in a few weeks, but this cosying up may be for a limited purpose only. Former Opposition Leader Mallikarjun Kharge appears to be the favourite to bag the Congress nomination, while Gowda is his party’s best bet. Interestingly, both Gowda and Kharge were present at Sonia Gandhi’s video-conference meeting of Opposition leaders on Zoom.
About 45 votes are necessary for a Rajya Sabha seat, and the JDS has only 34. Experts point out that it is impossible to win a seat on its own strength, and the party is holding talks with the Congress to get the remaining votes to send Gowda to the Rajya Sabha, possibly in exchange for a Council seat. So out of 16 Council seats, four are going to elections in the Graduates and Teachers constituencies, and if Congress and JDS come together, they could restrict a BJP sweep.
The two seats falling vacant in the Upper House are those of BK Hariprasad and Prof Rajeev Gowda (both Congress), while Kupendra Reddy, who completes his term, may find renomination difficult. BJP leader Prabhakar Kore is likely to be renominated, while the other seat could go to a BJP nominee, possibly a person picked by the central leadership. Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar told TNIE, “We are ready to hold elections any time and are awaiting the nod of the central election authorities.’’