E-Paper
Karnataka win to help Cong in RS polls; unlikely to impact House dynamics
Congress party's strong performance in the Karnataka election ensures retention of all three Rajya Sabha seats from the state in the April 2024 polls.
New Delhi: The Congress party’s best electoral performance since 1989 in the Karnataka election will ensure that the party retains all three Rajya Sabha seats from the state that go to polls in April 2024. Coming at the fag end of the Narendra Modi government’s current tenure, the biennial elections will have little impact in the Upper House before the 2024 general election.
Congress leaders Nassir Hussain, L Hanumantaiah and GC Chandrasekhar’s term ends on April 2. Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s current tenure will also end the same day.
As Rajya Sabha MPs are elected by MLAs of a state through a system of proportional representation, in the 244 seats-strong Karnataka assembly, a Rajya Sabha aspirant would require 224/ (4+1) +1 MLAs or 45.8 votes to secure a seat.
The Congress’s 135 seats translates into a smooth victory for its two candidates. The third candidate would require support from the JD(S) or some of the independent MLAs to secure a seat through first preference votes.
But if the JD(S) and the four independent MLAs think otherwise, the third Congress candidate will depend on the second preference votes to come to the Upper House.
The BJP with 66 seats, can retain the seat of Chandrasekhar but will find it very difficult to snatch a seat away from the Congress under the current circumstances. A combined strength of BJP and JD(S) and the 4 independent MLAs will still fall short to bag a second seat.
A senior Congress leader said, “At this moment we are not discussing the biennial election next year. But our numbers are sufficient to get all three seats.”
In the Upper House of Parliament, where lawmakers get six years term as compared to five years for Lok Sabha MPs, the Congress has shrunk considerably in the past nine years as it won just 11 of 52 assembly elections since Prime Minister Modi came to power. From more than 60 seats in 2015, the Congress is now reduced to just 31 MPs in the Rajya Sabha.
