Saturday’s Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka is crucial for both the Congress and BJP to maintain its tally in the Upper House to add fire power to counter one another. In the number game it is sure for the Congress to win two seats and BJP one but the third seat is crucial for the Congress which has bet everything on it. Undeterred by sting operations by channels and subsequent herding of independent MlAs to resort, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is confidant of the victory of its third candidate former top cop KC Ramamurthy. IT capital Bengaluru is witnessing hectic parleys ahead of polls.
Even though Election Commission has not taken any decision so far on countermanding the elections to Rajya Sabha based on sting operations where independent MlAs from Karnataka allegedly seen talking about money in exchange of votes, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah expressed confidence that with the help of associate members and some independents party’s third candidate could easily win.
He said “Our party’s third candidate KC Rama Murthy would get elected with the help of 33 excess votes of the Congress and five associate members of the party along with some independents who had identified with the congress”.
In another development former Prime Minister and JDs chief HD Deve Gowda directly accused of Congress of horse-trading and poaching JDs MlAs. Five of JDs MlAs have defied the party and openly declared that they would support the third candidate put up by the Congress. He said “Congress is insisting that the elections go ahead as scheduled. The third Rajya Sabha candidate will be able to get only 33 votes, but still they are insisting that the elections be held on June 11. Is this horse trading or donkey tradingIJ”.
As per the numbers Congress candidates senior party leaders Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes and BJP’s Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman are sure to get elected. But the third candidate of the Congress KC Ramamurthy and JDs candidate industrialist BA Farooq are fighting it out for the fourth seat.
Five JD(S) MlAs Zameer Ahmed Khan, Cheluvarayaswamy, Akhanda Srinivas, Iqbal Ansari and Balakrishna have said they will be voting for the Congress in the Rajya Sabha and legislative Council elections.
Meanwhile, for the first time in Rajya Sabha election NOTA as an option has been introduced along with the photographs of the candidates. The returning officer and Assembly Secretary S Murthy said he has not received any direction from the Election Commission about the postponing or countermanding of the polls due to the recent sting operations carried out by some private news channels. He said was going ahead with the preparation for holding election as per schedule.
According to Assembly secretariat the number of votes required to win is 45 in the 225 member Karnataka Assembly (with no vote to the nominated Anglo-Indian member). The ruling party has the strength of 123 MlAs (excluding Speaker Kagodu Thimmappa), while the Bharatiya Janata Party has 44 and the Janata Dal (Secular) has the strength of 40 MlAs. The ruling party can easily ensure victory of two candidates, and will be left with surplus 33 votes. It will be short of 12 votes to get the third seat. The Congress is banking on cross voting from disgruntled JDs MlAs to snatch the third seat. As JDs is facing internal rebellion, feuds, the Congress will certainty try to lure the disgruntled JDs MlAs to get 12 as part of its strategy.
It is crucial for the Congress to win third seat and the party might also look at Independents (9) and members of the Badavara Shramikara Raithara Congress Party (3 MlAs), Karnataka Janata Paskha (2), and Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and Karnataka Makkala Paksha (one MlA each) to lend their support.