BJP’s Legislative Council seat for AH Vishwanath only after SC verdict

Bengaluru: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party was planning to reward disqualified Janata Dal (Secular) MLA A.H. Vishwanath with a nomination to the Legislative Council but has reportedly put its plans on hold after the Speaker disqualified the rebel legislators.

The party will now have to wait till the Supreme Court decides on the petition filed by the rebels challenging their disqualification.

In fact, the BJP wanted to appoint Mr Vishwanath the floor leader in the Upper House considering the pivotal role he played in unseating the coalition government.

Mr Vishwanath too was keen on a Council seat instead of contesting the by-elections. Before resigning from the Assembly, he had met BJP central leaders at Delhi and had requested them to consider him for an Upper House seat, sources said.

The saffron party is looking for a potential Kuruba leader in the old Mysuru region to expand its base and also checkmate former CM Siddaramaiah. After Kuruba leader C,H. Vijayashankar left the BJP to join the Congress, the party does not have a strong leader in old Mysuru and wants to project Mr Vishwanath as its Kuruba face in the region, said a senior BJP leader. The party knows that senior leader K.S. Eshwarappa, who belongs to the Kuruba community has not been able to reach out to community voters and wants to groom a potential leader ahead of the next Assembly elections, sources added.