Bengaluru: The ruling BJP won three seats, while the Congress bagged one seat and the JD(S) drew a blank in the Rajya Sabha polls held for four seats from Karnataka yesterday.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, actor Jaggesh and former MLC Lehar Singh Siroya were elected from the BJP, while former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh was elected on a Congress ticket. The BJP had renominated Nirmala Sitharaman.
While the victory of three candidates — Nirmala Sitharaman and Jaggesh of the BJP and Jairam Ramesh of the Congress — was very much on expected lines, there was suspense on who would take the fourth seat. Ultimately, Lehar Singh Siroya of BJP put all speculations to rest, by winning the fourth seat, taking advantage of the lack of co-ordination between the Congress and JD(S), who had fielded their own candidates.
Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) and Mansoor Ali Khan of Congress had to bite the dust, as either of the two parties — Congress and JD(S) — were willing to withdraw their candidate or reach an understanding for fourth seat, as the result of three other seats was a foregone conclusion, as BJP had the numbers to bag two seats and Congress one seat.
JD(S) candidate Kupendra Reddy also suffered a setback, as two of the party MLAs — K. Srinivas Gowda of Kolar and S.R. Srinivas of Gubbi — cross-voted, in violation of the party whip.
This post was published on June 11, 2022 6:41 pm