BENGALURU: In an apparent move to honour its commitment, Congress has nominated former chief minister Jagadish Shettar as one of its candidates for the June 30 elections to the Legislative Council from the Assembly.
The other Congress candidates are Minor Irrigation Minister NS Boseraju, who is not a member of the Assembly or the Council, and Tippannappa Kamaknoor. All three are likely to be elected unopposed. They are likely to file their nomination papers on Tuesday.
If elected, Shettar’s term as MLC will be till June 14, 2028. His nomination is for the post vacated by former DCM Laxman Savadi, who quit BJP after he was denied a ticket to contest the May 10 Assembly elections. Savadi joined Congress and got elected to the Assembly from Athani.
Shettar, who also quit BJP for the same reason, joined Congress. But he lost to Mahesh Tenginakai of the BJP by a margin of 38,289 votes from the Hubballi-Dharwad (Central) constituency. “I feel happy that the Congress party is treating me respectfully and is using my experience to strengthen the party ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections,” he told TNIE.
He did not rule out contesting the LS elections if Congress fields him, especially from Dharwad. Shettar’s nomination was expected as he hails from the Veerashaiva-Lingayat community and his stature as a leader of the community may help Congress in the LS elections.
Boseraju’s nomination is inevitable as he has to be a member of the House being a minister. If elected, Tippannappa’s term as MLC will end on June 30, 2026. This post fell vacant due to the resignation of former minister R Shankar. Tippannappa, who hails from Kalaburagi, is from the Koli community.
Baburao Chinchansur, who also hails from the Koli community, returned to Congress from BJP ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections. He had also resigned as MLC. But Chinchansur lost from the Gurmitkal constituency in the Assembly elections. His renomination as MLC was expected. But the Congress leadership chose Tippannappa over Chinchansur and is likely to groom the former as the Koli community’s future leader.