JD(S) confident of Cong withdrawing second candidate for RS polls

The development comes a day before the official date for withdrawals for the Rajya Sabha polls, which is June 3.

The Janata Dal (Secular) are confident that the Congress party in Karnataka will withdraw its second candidate from the Rajya Sabha election race by Friday as the former prime minister HD Deve Gowda-led outfit has reached out to the national leadership of the Sonia Gandhi-led party, HT has learnt.

HD Deve Gowda-led JD(S) has reached out to the national leadership of the Sonia Gandhi-led party to withdraw its second candidate from the Rajya Sabha election race. (File photo)

According to at least two persons directly aware of the developments, senior leaders from the Congress are now trying to convince their counterparts in the state to withdraw the candidature of Mansoor Ali Khan.

“All top leaders are talking to each other and the Congress will withdraw its second candidate tonight. There is Opposition within the Congress that the party will have to sacrifice one of their candidate as they don’t have enough votes to secure a win,” said one of two persons cited above, requesting anonymity.

The development comes a day before the official date for withdrawals for the Rajya Sabha polls, which is June 3. The elections are scheduled to be held on June 10.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded three candidates — Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaggesh and Lahar Singh— even though it can win two seats comfortably and the third will depend upon the fact if the Congress fails to support the JD(S) or vice- versa.

Each candidate will require 45 votes to win and the BJP will have 32 additional votes for a third candidate (Singh). However, if the JD(S) and Congress decide not to collaborate, the BJP can make up for another nine votes by way of second preferential voting to get closer to the 45-vote mark.

The JD(S) candidate, Kupendra Reddy, is unlikely to get all the votes of its 32 legislators as at least five of them are expected to abstain from the exercise as they are likely to exit the regional outfit, people aware of the developments said.

However, if the Congress does decide to throw its weight behind the JD(S), then Reddy can secure a victory, the people quoted above said.

The JD(S) reached out to senior Congress leader Mallikarjuna Kharge who is trying to convince the party’s top brass to withdraw its second candidate, said one of the persons cited above.

Congress national general secretary and in-charge of Karnataka unit Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday refused to respond to the questions about the party’s position on the Rajya Sabha polls.

He said that the Congress party president Sonia Gandhi has tested positive for Covid-19 and is in isolation forcing all conversations and discussions to be on the phone and not in person, adding to the complex political equations.

The Congress will have around 19-20 additional votes if it does withdraw its candidate.

“There are deliberations going on whether to withdraw our second candidate or not. But nothing is final yet,” said a Congress legislator, requesting not to be named.The Congress had fielded the second candidate in the hope to validate its claim that the JD(S) is the “B” team of the BJP and that the two parties have a tacit understanding to help each other’s interests while maintaining a rivalry on the outside.

The BJP, however, appears confident that it can get its third candidate over the line with its own vote.

“If legislators vote for their respective parties, then we will have no trouble winning on the second preferential votes. But we have to see if there is cross voting as it has happened in the past as well,” said a BJP legislator, requesting anonymity.

EXPERT OPINION