BJP picks Nirmala...& Jaggesh for Rajya Sabha polls, surprises all

Cong picks Jairam Ramesh for seat it can win on its own

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT
Bengaluru

The BJP sprang a surprise on Sunday evening naming noted Kannada actor Jaggesh along with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman as the party’s candidates for the June 10 election to the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka.
Sitting RS member, KC. Ramamurthy who had quit the Congress two years ago to join the BJP and fight the Upper House polls, has not got the ticket nor have other BJP leaders like Nirmalkumar Surana and Lehar Singh whose names were doing the rounds. Jaggesh’s candidature has come as a surprise to even those in the saffron camp. He was earlier elected from Chikkanayakanahalli on a Congress ticket but resigned and joined the BJP.
There were reports that Jaggesh, a Kannadiga,  was chosen to offset the impact of Ms Sitharaman’s candidature as she originally belongs to Tami Nadu. Till last week, there were rumours that the finance minister would seek re-entry into the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile, sitting Congress member Jairam Ramesh will again file his nomination papers on Monday for the only seat the party can win on its own. He will be accompanied by Leader of  Opposition in the Assembly Siddaramaiah and KPCC President D.K.Shivakumar. The Congress has so far not announced a second candidate and it is uncertain if it will name one. The Janata Dal(Secular) has also not announced its nominee.