6 candidates for 4 RS seats, hectic parleys begin

BJP looks to JD(S) support but Gowda wants his man in

Shyam Sundar Vattam | NT
Bengaluru: Four seats, six candidates and ten days to go. That in a nutshell sums up the complexities of the June 10 Rajya Sabha polls in Karnataka for which the filing of nominations papers ended on Tuesday.
While the BJP has fielded three candidates, Nirmala Sitharaman, Jaggesh and Lehar Singh Siroya, the Congress has fielded two-Jairam Ramesh and Mansoor Ali Khan and the JD(S), one-Kupendra Reddy. The BJP can easily send two of its candidates to the Upper House and the Congress, one and it is the fourth seat which is keeping everyone guessing as to who will be the winner.
Hectic parleys are with JD(S) supremo Deve Gowda reportedly contacting Congress president Sonia Gandhi for support and the BJP  trying its best to secure the support of JD(S) MLAs for its third candidate, Lehar Singh.
For the JD(S), the prospects of winning a seat look pretty bleak as it has only 32 seats and needs an additional 13 to send its candidate to the Rajya Sabha. For the Congress, the chances of winning a second seat too look pretty dim with only 70 party MLAs;  after party MLAs have voted for Jairam Ramesh, Mansoor Ali Khan will need an additional 20 votes to win the poll. On Tuesday, all three BJP candidates,  Nirmala Sitaraman, Jaggesh and Lehar Singh filed their papers
Sources said money power could come into play in the polls which will be conducted through a secret ballot with the possibility of cross-voting pretty high.

Meanwhile, the poll scene has started witnessing fireworks with  JD(S) leader HD Revanna accusing the Congress of going back on its word after AICC President Sonia Gandhi reportedly assured Deve Gowda that a second candidate would not be fielded. The Congress has however fielded a Muslim candidate which amounts to ‘back-stabbing’ and is intended to help the BJP, he claimed.
Sources said JD(S) candidate Kupendra Redy approaching  Congress leaders DK Shivakumar and BK Hariprasad for support and not Siddaramaiah, might have angered the former CM who then prevailed upon the high command to field a second candidate.