BENGALURU: Droupadi Murmu, the NDA presidential candidate, visited former prime minister and JDS patriarch HD Deve Gowda at his residence on Sunday and requested JDS support for her candidature.
JDS has one MP each in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, 32 members in the Karnataka Assembly and two MLAs in Kerala -- Mathew Thomas and Krishnan Kutty. In Karnataka, BJP has 122 MLAs, including one independent.
Each vote of an MLA from Karnataka will have a value of 131 and each MLA from Kerala will be valued at 152, as determined by Article 55 (2) of the Constitution. The electoral college for the presidential polls consists of elected MLAs and elected members of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha.
Murmu was accompanied by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi and other senior BJP leaders when she met Gowda. Senior JDS leader HD Kumaraswamy and former minister HD Revanna too were present. Interestingly, Murmu, after entering Gowda's residence, offered prayers and performed arti to the holy basil, or tulasi.
Going by the numbers, Murmu is comfortably placed to win the election. In South India, she has been assured of support by YSR Congress of Andhra Pradesh and AIADMK of Tamil Nadu. Asked about her visit to Gowda’s residence, Kumaraswamy told The New Indian Express, "She came to seek JDS support. We will hold a meeting of our MLAs and decide on the issue of supporting her."
Murmu also spoke to BJP MLAs in Bengaluru on Sunday in a meeting that was chaired by Bommai. Former chief minister BS Yediyurappa, BJP state president Nalin Kumar Kateel, Union ministers Pralhad Joshi and Kishan Reddy, BJP national general secretary CT Ravi, former chief ministers Jagadish Shettar and DV Sadananda Gowda and others attended the meeting.
Earlier, Murmu, who arrived on a special flight at the HAL Airport, was accorded a warm welcome by Bommai, Kateel, several ministers and a host of MLAs.