Will the bickering in the state BJP have its impact on the upcoming elections to the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka? With former chief minister B.S. Yeddyurappa and his loyalists again going into a huddle at a resort in Bengaluru Sunday evening, a day before the last day for filing nominations for the March 30 Rajya Sabha elections, this seems to be a distinct possibility, said sources.
While, the Congress has zeroed in on former deputy chairman of Rajya Sabha Rehman Khan who would be seeking re-election for the fourth time, the BJP has decided to postpone the announcement till Monday. Senior Congress leader B.K. Hariprasad is likely to fight the poll from Andhra Pradesh, sources said. According to sources, the BJP has made up its mind on fielding sitting member K.B. Shanappa and retired IAS officer R. Ramakrishna, apart from extending support to former TTD chairman D.K. Audikesavulu as the third candidate.
Though the state BJP is hoping to support Audikeshavulu as the third candidate, BSY seems to favour sitting MP Rajeev Chandrashekhar, which is likely to cause more friction between the warring factions in the ruling party, said sources. “The Rajya Sabha election can happen only when the Legislative Assembly is intact. The Central leadership should heed our appeal to reinstate BSY as CM immediately. Otherwise, there is no reason why we should support the BJP candidates in the RS elections. In all, we are 70 MLAs, which is a good number to elect two candidates on our own,” said a BSY loyalist, hinting that the State BJP’s decisions were not binding on them till their demand was met.
Sources in the Congress said Khan was preferred over the other two contenders - C.M. Ibrahim and C.K. Jaffer Sharief, owing to his proximity to the AICC chief and because he could then continue as deputy chairman. While, Sharief is being seriously considered for a Governor’s post, Ibrahim would be made an MLC, sources added.