Bengaluru: With the opposition BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) not likely to field candidates in the election to a Legislative Council vacancy, Congress candidate C.M. Ibrahim is likely to get elected unopposed.
The seat has been lying vacant following the sudden demise of BJP member and former deputy chairperson of the Council, Vimala Gowda, whose tenure was supposed to end in June next year.
The election will be held on August 31 and the last date for filing nominations is August 21. The Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) do not have the numbers in the Legislative Assembly to ensure the victory of their candidates and may refrain from fielding candidates, said sources.
On the other hand, the ruling Congress which has 120 plus members besides a handful of independent legislators, is sure of victory.
All India Congress Committee President Sonia Gandhi had already cleared Mr Ibrahim's name for the seat and he will be filing his nomination papers on Monday.
Ibrahim, who is currently deputy chairman of the State Planning Board, had a strained relationship with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and had dropped hints of joining the JD(S) if he was ignored by the Congress.
On many occasions, he had openly praised Janata Dal (Secular) president H.D. Deve Gowda and had met him to express his willingness to join the party. Realising the important role the Muslim leader could play in the 2018 assembly elections in view of his oratory skills, the Chief Minister had recommended his name to the high command.
Mr Ibrahim is known for his command over Hindu and Kannada language plus his knowledge of vachanas and the Ramayana and Mahabharata. He will definitely be a crowd puller at least in the North Karnataka and Hyderabad Karnataka regions. Sources in the BJP told Deccan Chronicle that since the tenure of the new member would be less than a year, they do not want to field a candidate. A Janata Dal (Secular) leader echoed the view.
