Amid hectic political developments on the BJP front, calls for former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda to contest in the Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka are growing within the JD(S). When some party leaders raised the issue in January, and the veteran politician refused to yield, but it again came up for discussion at the JD(S) meeting held last week.
“All the legislators present at the meeting urged the party patriarch to be the party’s candidate. The issue was not pursued further as Mr. Gowda did not want to discuss it at this juncture,” a senior legislator said, adding that the party was keen to have Mr. Gowda in Parliament. Sources close to Mr. Gowda said he was yet to make up his mind.
In one of the biggest upsets that the State saw during the May 2019 elections to the Lok Sabha, Mr. Gowda lost from Tumakuru. He had vacated the Hassan Lok Sabha seat for his grandson Prajwal Revanna, who made his debut in Parliament.
As many as four seats in the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka, including one from the JD(S), will be vacated in June following the end of the six-year term. Currently, the party is represented by Kupendra Reddy. While the BJP, with its numerical strength, is capable of sending two members to the Rajya Sabha, the Congress can send one. The JD(S), with 34 members in the Assembly, will have to get additional votes to send its candidate, as each candidate requires 45 votes.
Party sources said the Congress, which was a coalition partner of the JD(S), has additional votes which could be transferred to Mr. Gowda. However, so far the JD(S) has not raised the issue with the Congress.
Meanwhile, Congress sources close to Congress Legislature Party leader and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said there was a possibility that the two seats that can be won by Opposition parties could go to veteran Congress leader M. Mallikarjun Kharge and a JD(S) nominee, who is likely to be Mr. Gowda. “So far, discussions have not happened,” a source said.