Rumblings in Karnataka Congress over Jairam Ramesh’s name

The decision to nominate the three-time Rajya Sabha member came after stiff resistance by the party’s state unit.

The Congress on Sunday announced the candidature of former Union minister Jairam Ramesh for the Rajya Sabha from one of the four Karnataka seats that will go to the polls on June 10, leaving state leaders unhappy.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh (gencies)

The decision to nominate the three-time Rajya Sabha member came after stiff resistance by the party’s state unit.

“Almost all leaders in Karnataka did not want Ramesh as the candidate as he has maintained no real connection with the state or its leaders,” said a senior leader, requesting anonymity.

State Congress leaders were hopeful of nominating SP Muddahanumegowda, a former Lok Sabha MP from Tumakuru and two-term MLA, a party functionary said, requesting anonymity. “The other names included Rajeev Gowda, a former Rajya Sabha member, BL Shankar and V R Sudarshan,” the functionary added.Many in the party believed that Mudhanumegowda, who was one of the top performing party MPs, could have retained his Lok Sabha seat in the 2019 elections. But he was asked to step down to accommodate the candidature of former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, when the Congress allied with the JD(S), to keep the BJP out of power in Karnataka after a hung verdict in 2018.

Deve Gowda was defeated in 2019 as the BJP reduced the Congress and JD(S) to just one seat each in the general elections riding on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s popularity that helped the party win 25 of 28 seats.

“When he (Muddahanumegowda) was asked to sit out in 2019, he was assured by leaders in Delhi that they would accommodate him in the Rajya Sabha even if there was just one opening. This was the general opinion of all Congress party leaders from Karnataka,” said another party leader, also requesting anonymity.

The elections to 57 seats in the Upper House of Parliament, spread across 15 states and Union territories, will be held on June 10. Four of these seats are from Karnataka.

Polling for four of the total 12 Rajya Sabha seats from the state is necessitated as terms of three members — Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, KC Ramamurthy (both from the BJP) and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress — will end on June 30. The fourth seat fell vacant due to the death of Congress leader Oscar Fernandes in September last year.

A candidate needs 45 votes to win and according to the tally in the legislative assembly, the BJP can comfortably win two, the Congress one while the Janata Dal (Secular) will need support from others if it has to send one of its members to the Rajya Sabha.

The BJP on Sunday announced the names of Sitharaman and Kannada actor Jaggesh as its candidates for the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka

The JD(S) has decided to field D Kupendra Reddy as its candidate despite needing at least 12 votes from either the BJP or the Congress.

“The BJP and Congress do not have the numbers to field a candidate on its own and win. It is almost inevitable that they will support us. There are no friends or enemies in politics and since it is election year, there will be a whip issued to all MLAs (against cross-voting). We have spoken to both parties and will have our candidate in the elections,” said TA Sharavana, JD(S) leader and spokesperson for the party.