Bengaluru: Undeterred by his defeat in Rajya Sabha polls in 2016, billionaire entrepreneur B M Farooq entered the fray as JD (S) nominee, handing in his nomination papers for polls to the House of Elders, scheduled for March 23, on Friday. Mr Farooq, whose candidature was supported by state Dal (S) president, H D Kumaraswamy, all JD(S) MLAs from Hassan district, Mr Madhu Bangarappa and others, submitted three sets of nomination papers to Legislative Assembly Secretary Mr Murthy today.
Later, Mr Farooq told the media that he had contacted all independent legislators, and was confident of a victory. On the possibility of cross voting, he said he was not aware of it. “I have filed papers as per the instruction of senior leaders of our party. The lection proceedings will be monitored by former prime minister Mr Deve Gowda,” he added.
In 2016, Mr Farooq lost to retired IPS officer K C Ramamurthy, with seven JD(S) members voting for the latter in defiance of the party diktat.
