The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) announced its candidates for the next week’s biennial election to seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council, to be elected by the members of Legislative Assembly (MLAs).
Former chief minister and senior leader BJP leader BS Yediyurappa’s son, BY Vijayendra, who is the present state vice president of the party, has been denied an MLC ticket by the ruling party.
The Karnataka BJP core committee had earlier recommended over a dozen names as probable candidates, including Vijayendra, to the central leadership, for the upcoming Legislative Council polls.
The BJP announced former deputy chief minister and party vice president Laxman Savadi, secretaries of the BJP state unit Hemalatha Nayak and S Keshavaprasad, president of BJP SC Morcha Chalavadi Narayaswamy as its candidate.
According to party sources, Vijayendra was not given MLC ticket as the leadership is planning to field him as a candidate during the 2023 Assembly elections. The central leadership is also understood to have decided against Vijayendra’s candidature, as it will weaken the BJP’s stand against dynasty politics, ahead of the Assembly polls, PTI reported.
Yediyurappa, who stepped down as Chief Minister in July last year, had reportedly requested the leadership to make his son an MLC or minister in the Basavaraj Bommai cabinet.
The election, which is scheduled to be held on June 3, is necessitated as the term of office of seven members expires on June 14.
The seats will be falling vacant due to the retirement of MLCs — Laxman Sangappa Savadi and Lahar Singh Siroya of BJP; Ramappa Timmapur, Allum Veerabhadrappa, Veena Achaiah S of Congress; and HM Ramesha Gowda and Narayana Swamy K V of JD(S).
In the upcoming election, each MLC candidate will need a minimum of 29 votes to win, and on the basis of minimum votes required and tallying it with the strength of each party in the Legislative Assembly, the BJP is expected to win four seats, Congress two, and JD(S) one, according to official sources.
The polling will be held between 9 am to 4 pm on June 3 and counting of votes will be done at 5 pm that day.
Senior leader Basavaraj Horatti, who recently switched over to the BJP from the JD(S), will be the party’s candidate for the Karnataka West Teacher’s constituency election, scheduled on June 13.
