Bengaluru: Ruling out support to B.M. Farooq of the JD(S) for the third Rajya Sabha seat from the State, the Congress has decided to field AICC Spokesperson Syed Naseer Hussain, former Chairman of  KUWS&DB G.C. Chandrashekar, and former MLC L. Hanumanthaiah.

G.C. Chandrashekar is the third candidate of the Congress.

In terms of caste equation, the party has decided to field Naseer Hussain, a minority community leader from Ballari, L. Hanumanthaiah, a dalit from Bengaluru Rural and G.C. Chandrashekar a Vokkaliga from Hassan.

G.C. Chandrashekar is presently the General Secretary of the KPCC.

B.M. Farooq of the JD(S) has already filed his nomination papers. He had also contested the 2016 RS polls and was defeated. Each candidate requires 44 votes in the 224 Member Assembly.

The third candidate of the Congress, which has 123 members, is expected to emerge victorious with possible support from seven JD(S) rebels and a few independent Legislators.

Meanwhile, the BJP has named two-time independent member of the Rajya Sabha from the State and media entrepreneur Rajeev Chandrashekar as the party’s sole candidate. Chandrashekar won twice in 2006 and 2012, both times getting additional votes from the BJP and JD(S). In 2006, he won against senior writer  Dr. U.R. Ananthamurthy (URA).

Elections to four Rajya Sabha seats from the State are scheduled on Mar.23. The term of four members of the Upper House — Rajeev Chandrashekar (Independent), Rahman Khan (Congress) and Basavaraj Patil Sedam and R. Ramakrishna (both BJP) will end on April 2, 2018.