JD(S) retort to Siddaramaiah: We'll field candidate for Rajya Sabha poll

Bengaluru: Despite being short of numbers and Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ruling out an alliance with it, the JD(S) has decided to go ahead and field a candidate for the coming Rajya Sabha poll from the state.

It plans to finalise its candidate at the JD(S) Parliamentary Board meeting that will be chaired by party supremo, H D Deve Gowda on Wednesday. While to win, a candidate needs 44 votes, the

JD(S) has only 30 legislators in hand and will have to get 14 more votes. Meanwhile, reacting to Mr Siddaramaiah's statement that the Congress would not have any tie-up with it, JD(S) state president , H D Kumaraswamy said it had never approached him for support. “We spoke to the Congress's central leaders in Delhi and it is up to them to support us or not. We don't even consider Mr Siddaramaiah's responses. But whether they support us or not, we will field our candidate,'' he said.

Going by party sources , it is in a dilemma over fielding Mr Farooq, who had unsuccessfully contested the last election, which saw eight JD(S)
legislators cross vote.

The Congress, meanwhile, has 130 votes, including those of the seven JD(S) rebels and businessman turned politican, Ashok Kheny. It will need only two more votes to get its three

At present only 219 votes can be cast in the 224- member House as Mr Shivaraj Patil and Mr Manappa Vajjal of JD(S) have resigned to join the BJP. Three MLAs , Qamar-ul-Islam, Puttannaiah and Chikkamadu have passed away.