Congress president Sonia Gandhi has successfully persuaded former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda to contest the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka. Gowda will file his nominations on June 9, his son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Monday.
Kumaraswamy said the JD(S) patriarch took the decision following the request from the Congress president, several national leaders, and party legislators. The JD(S), which has 34 seats in the Assembly, is not in a position to win a seat in Rajya Sabha on its own and will need support from the Congress with its surplus votes. A minimum of 45 votes are required for candidates to win. If he wins, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as PM.
Gowda was defeated in Tumkur by BJP’s GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.