Political activity set to pick up in Karnataka with notification of elections to four Rajya Sabha seats

Political activity in the ruling Congress and opposition BJP is likely to intensify in the coming days with the notification of elections for four seats in the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka by the Election Commission of India on May 22. The elections will be held on June 18. The Congress is expected to win three seats while the BJP is likely to get one seat.

The elections have been necessitated by the completion of the term of senior leaders Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda JD(S), Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjuna Kharge (Congress), and BJP members K. Narayana and Iranna Kadadi.

As many as 24 seats, including four from Karnataka, from 10 States across the country are falling vacant. In all, Karnataka sends 12 members to the Rajya Sabha. At present, Congress has five members, BJP has six, and JD(S) has one member in the Upper House from Karnataka.

The election schedule

As per the election scheduled announced, while the last date for filing nominations is June 8, the last date for withdrawal is June 11. The election will be held on June 18. Counting of votes will be taken up on the same day.

The election is coming amid the leadership tussle in the Congress between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.

The other topic of speculation of the future of Janata Dal supremo H.D. Deve Gowda. The JD(S), which is an ally of the BJP, does not have the numbers to get a candidate elected on its own. It is to be seen whether the BJP would accommodate the nonagenarian leader in the lone seat that it is capable of winning. JD(S) sources said there has been no discussion on this issue so far.

Will D.V. Sadananda Gowda be brought back into the mainstream

There is speculation in the BJP that former Chief Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda could be its choice, though a final decision is yet to be made.

In the Congress, which is set to win three seats, Mr. Kharge, who is also the Congress president, is likely to keep his seat. Sources said that a Lingayat leader could be nominated for one seat since there has been no Lingayat representation from the Congress in the Upper House of Parliament for over two decades. Veerashaiva-Lingayats are a land-owning community that has high stakes in the State’s politics through their presence in both the Congress and BJP.

Balancing Vokkaliga and Lingayat communities

According to sources, the Congress is trying to bring a balance among the caste groups since the Vokkaliga community is already represented through G.C. Chandrashekar. Syed Naseer Hussain represents the Muslim community and Jairam Ramesh the Brahmins. The other member of the Congress from Karnataka is its national leader Ajay Maken, who is a Delhi-based leader.

“It is likely that the third seat could see a leader from the OBC communities,” sources said. “The discussions on the party’s nominees had taken a back seat due to elections to five State assemblies, the results of which were declared on May 4. Now, the contenders in the Congress will begin lobbying.”