BENGALURU: The Legislative Council elections to 25 seats, which are five months away, could change the complexion of the Upper House if the BJP continues its winning ways. Of the seats that will go to the polls, 14 are with Congress, six with BJP, four with JDS and one Independent, Vivekrao Patil.
Of the total 75 seats in the House, BJP has 32 seats, Cong 29, JDS 12 and one Independent. The Congress will have an uphill task in retaining the seats as normally, the polls favour the party in power. KPCC working president Saleem Ahmed told TNIE, “We have started preparing for the polls. The voters will be members of gram panchayats and local bodies.’’
Senior Congress leader and MLC B K Hariprasad said, “Considering that we did well in seven out of 10 local body elections that were held recently, we expect to do well in the Council polls too.’’The BJP, on the other hand, is hoping to increase its tally from the present 32 seats and cross the crucial half-way mark of 38 seats for a simple majority in the House. If the party does manage this, it will be the first time that it would have got majority in the Upper House.
Minister Kota Srinivas Poojary is among the six BJP MLCs retiring from the Council. The other outgoing BJP members are Mahantesh Kavatagimath, Pradeep Shettar, Sunil Subramani, M K Pranesh and B G Patil. BJP’s official spokesman and former MLC Ganesh Karnik exuded confidence that they will win over 13 seats in the polls. Once the party crosses the half-way mark, it does not need the support of JDS to get Bills cleared in the Council.
The JDS, with 12 seats, has its man Basavaraj Horatti as chairman of the Council in a quid pro quo deal with BJP to back the Bills presented by the government. The JDS is confident of retaining all the four seats in the polls as it plans to allow Appaji Gowda, C R Manohar, Sunilgouda B Patil and Sandesh Nagraj to contest again.
Lobbying within the parties has begun for the 25 seats as many leaders who lost Assembly elections are keen to get into the Council. But Council polls have to wait as elections to local bodies, which constitute the electoral college, are a few months away.