Deve Gowda, Kharge set for RS berth from Karnataka as nominations draw to a close

Bengaluru: A total of five candidates, including former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda and veteran Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge have filed their nominations for four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, that goes to the polls on June 19.
Tuesday was the last day to file nominations for the biennial elections for the Rajya Sabha, to be elected by members of the state legislative assembly.

While JD(S) and Congress have fielded political heavyweights Gowda and Kharge, the ruling BJP has given tickets to two "low profile" party workers Iranna Kadadi and Ashok Gasti.

Sangamesh Chikkanaragunda, an independent candidate, has also filed his nomination.

While Kharge had submitted his papers on Monday, Gowda, two BJP and the independent candidate filed their nominations on Tuesday.

Scrutiny of nominations will take place on Wednesday and the last date for withdrawal of candidature is June 12.

"...it is likely to be clear by tomorrow, with the scrutiny of nominations, whether it will be an unopposed unanimous election or there will be a contest," official sources said, pointing out that an independent too has filed his nomination.

Election is scheduled on June 19 to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, represented by Rajeev Gowda and B K Hariprasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement.

The BJP, with 117 members in the assembly (including Speaker), can ensure easy victory in two seats,while Congress, with 68 MLAs,can win one of the four seats on its own.

The JD(S), which has 34 seats in the assembly, is not in a position to win a seat in the Rajya Sabha on its own and will need support from the Congress with its surplus votes.

A minimum of 45 votes are required for a candidate to win.

On getting elected, this will be the first stint in the Rajya Sabha for Congress' Kharge, who has always got elected directly by voters in his over four decade political career.

Kharge, earlier popularly known as "solillada Saradara", (a leader without defeat), faced his first electoral loss against BJP's Umesh Jadhav in Gulbarga by 95,452 votes during the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

For 87-year-old Gowda, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry, the first time being in 1996 as Prime Minister.

He was defeated in Tumkur constituency by BJP's G S Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, as he decided to contest from the seat at the last minute after vacating Hassan-his home turf, to grandson Prajwal Revanna (a current MP).

Though JD(S) claims Gowda decided to contest on the request of Congress President Sonia Gandhi and several national leaders, speculations are rife that the grand old party may seek favours in the coming legislative council polls.

For many in the BJP, more than the Rajya Sabha elections, the surprise sprung by the central leadership by fielding Kadadi and Gasti as its candidates, ignoring recommendations of the party state unit, is still indigestible.

The state BJP core committee on Saturday had recommended three names to high command as probable candidates- Ramesh Katti, the brother of senior MLA Umesh Katti, incumbent Prabhakar Kore and hotelier Prakash Shetty.

However, Yediyurappa on Tuesday said the central leadership of BJP had discussed with him before finalising the names of candidates.

"...from our core committee (state) we had sent some names, but ultimately our national president spoke to me and said it has been decided to give tickets to ordinary party workers. We discussed it, after which the two names were finalised," he said.

Kadadi, a Lingayat, is the party's Belagavi division in- charge, while Gasti, from the Savitha Samaj (barber community) from Raichur district is the party in-charge for the Bellary division.

Both have an Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad background and worked for the organisation at the grass root level for decades.

Some within the BJP see this move by the high command as a clear message to the state leadership and an indication that loyalty to the party and ideology is what matters.

They also see it as part of a strategy to nurture and elevate second-rung leaders.

The development is also being considered as a setback to Yediyurappa as it showcases his loosening grip over the party, with strong central leadership at the helm of affairs.

It has also come up at a time when there are speculations about dissidence within the state BJP against his leadership, with several MLAs, especially from north Karnataka recently holding separate meetings.