Bengaluru: The BJP named four candidates to contest the Legislative Council elections in Karnataka, and three of them are those backed by chief minister B S Yediyurappa. This allows the chief minister to fulfill promises he made to defectors from the opposition parties last year, and spares him considerable embarrassment had he not been able to make his word prevail.
In its list released late Wednesday night, the BJP named Pratap Simha Nayak, M T B Nagaraj, R Shankar and Sunil Valyapure for the election. Except Nayak, all three candidates are backed by chief minister B S Yediyurappa.
While Yediyurappa was able to come good on promises he made to R Shankar and M T B Nagaraj, he was not able to push through the candidature of H Vishwanath. All three leaders had defected from the Congress to the BJP by resigning their membership of the Legislative Assembly. All three are Kurubas, and it's possible the BJP central leadership felt three of one caste is quite a crowd in a list of four.
Instead of Vishwanath, the party leadership decided to pick a party worker Nayak to the Upper House.
For the chief minister this is relief rather than triumph though. The party bosses in Delhi had earlier rejected Yediyurappa's nominnees for the two Rajya Sabha elections, choosing instead two low-profile party workers. Had it spurned Yediyurappa's choices for the Legislative Council too, it would have been more embarrassing for him.
Yediyurappa's opposite number in the Congres, former chief minister Siddaramaiah too is locked in a similar equation with his own high command. The Congress party has decided to nominate AICC general secretary B.K. Hariprasad and incumbent member of the Legislative Council Nazeer Ahmed for the Upper House election.
In fact the Karnataka Congress had sent the names of Nazeer Ahemad, M C Venugopal, M R Seetharam and Nivedith Alva to the party high command for approval. Hariprasad was nowhere in the picture.
Yet the envelope came back containing the name of Hariprasad. Party insiders believe this was the handiwork of opponents of Siddaramaiah. Hariprasad is an OBC leaders and is likely to be propped up as a counterweight to Siddaramaiah.
Congress leaders also say this is a signal that Siddaramaiah's wings are being clipped.
The Janata Dal(S) has fielded Kupendra Reddy to the Council. All seven candidates in the fray, four of the BJP, two of the Congress and one of the JD(S) are likely to get through unopposed. The nominations end Thursday.
