BENGALURU: The Legislative Council Chairman is likely to be elected next week, as per the schedule of events. Filing of nomination, scrutiny, withdrawal of nominations and the date of election will be decided by the Secretariat and the Upper House, which will be in session till February 10. Among frontrunners for the post is JDS MLC Basavaraj Horatti, who is likely to be elected given the agreement between the JDS and BJP. The BJP has 31 members, JDS 13, and Congress 29 in the Council. The Congress may make it a contest by fielding Nasir Ahmed, who was recently elected, as its candidate.
Sources said that the Upper House will be in session till February 10, though the Lower House has been adjourned sine die. This the first time that the BJP has become the single-largest party in the Council. The election of Horatti, with the support of the saffron party, is likely to pave way for pending bills to be passed in the Council.
The ruling party was left red-faced on many occasions as the Congress, with its chairman Prathap Chandra Shetty – who has resigned since, and higher numbers, forced adjournment of the House without passing bills. The government then had to promulgate ordinances.The JDS has acknowledged that Horatti, who has 14 months of his tenure left, is its candidate.