BJP-JD(S) name second candidate for RS polls

Reddy, a former Rajya Sabha MP representing the JD(S), is one of the richest politicians in Karnataka with his assets exceeding ₹800 crore.

The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partners — the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular), or JD(S) — have nominated former Rajya Sabha member Kupendra Reddy of the JD(S) as the fifth candidate for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, forcing an election for the fourth seat from the state.

JD(S) leader Kupendra Reddy filed his nomination papers on Thursday (X)

Reddy, a prominent figure in Karnataka politics and a former Rajya Sabha MP representing the JD(S), is one of the richest politicians in Karnataka with his assets exceeding ₹800 crore. He submitted his nomination papers on Thursday, accompanied by leaders from both the JD(S) and the BJP.

The development comes in the wake of Congress candidates Ajay Maken, GC Chandrashekhar, and Syed Nasir Hussain, along with BJP’s Narayansa Bhandage, already throwing their hats in the ring.

Biennial election to fill four vacancies from Karnataka in Rajya Sabha, by the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly, is scheduled for February 27. The ruling Congress, whose strength is 135 in the 224-member Assembly, along with the support of Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha, and two Independents is expected to retain the three seats. The BJP and JD(S) with 66 and 19 members, respectively, are in a position to together win one seat.

With the Rajya Sabha elections set to be decided by MLA votes, securing a minimum of 45 votes is essential for victory. The Congress holds a considerable advantage with 135 MLAs, potentially securing three out of the four seats if no cross-voting occurs. To secure victory, the NDA, with 40 votes and potential support from Karnataka Rajya Pragathi Paksha leader G Janardhan Reddy, requires four additional votes.

According to people familiar with the matter, the stance of key figures like Darshan Puttannaiah of Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and independent MLAs Latha Mallikarjun and KH Puttaswamy Gowda, who have previously aligned with Congress, will be crucial. Meanwhile, the Congress is also expecting votes from BJP legislators ST Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar, who have openly identified with the Congress over the past few months.

Karnataka JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy said that the decision to field an additional candidate was made after consulting the BJP high command. “BJP national president and national leaders and BJP state leaders joined together and ultimately we decided to file the nomination paper as an NDA candidate. JDS-BJP coalition candidate, Kupendra Reddy we selected from both the party. We didn’t want to waste the votes for that reason Delhi high command also BJP high command advised us to put a candidate and we decided to file the nomination papers by Kupendra Reddy,” he said.

As the BJP-JD(S) alliance banks on garnering ‘conscience’ votes, Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar remains confident in Congress’s unity and the prospects of their candidates. “We have sufficient votes. Our three candidates will get elected to the Rajya Sabha and work for justice to the state,” Shivakumar, the Karnataka Congress president, said.

On “conscience” votes, Shivakumar said: “On February 27 you will see how many votes we will get and how they will get.”

However, Karnataka has seen crossing voting in Rajya Sabha elections in the past. In June 2022, he lost the Rajya Sabha elections because the Congress refused to transfer its additional votes and, instead, fielded its candidate, resulting in victory for BJP candidate Lehar Singh Siroya. Two JD(S) members had cross-voted in that election.

In June 2016, eight JD(S) legislators had cross-voted in favour of Congress candidate KC Ramamurthy, resulting in the defeat of the party’s candidate BM Farooq.

The upcoming Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka are necessitated by the end of the term of four current members, including Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar of BJP and writer L Hanumanthaiah.