Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge has secured a Rajya Sabha poll ticket after being officially announced as his party's candidate from Karnataka on Friday. The former union minister was in the race along with present Karnataka Congress Rajya Sabha members Dr Rajiv Gowda and BK Hariprasad. However, Kharge, who is known as a close associate of party interim president Sonia Gandhi, managed to beat the others.
Also, during a legislature party meeting of Janata Dal (Secular), its leaders expressed their strong appeal that former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda should stand in the elections. After the meeting, his son and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy said, “We have unanimously decided that HD Deve Gowda should contest the Rajya Sabha polls.”
Earlier in the day, Kumaraswamy said that there would be no "adjustment politics" with Congress during the upcoming Rajya Sabha and state legislative council elections. However, now if Deve Gowda contests, it remains to be seen whether the JD(S), which is short of numbers, seeks help from the Congress or the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
SP Muddahanumegowda who sacrificed his Tumkur Lok Sabha constituency for HD Deve Gowda in the 2019 parliamentary polls too was trying to get the Rajya Sabha ticket. Sources say he was earlier promised to be sent to the upper house, but the disappointing Lok Sabha election results completely changed the scenario, with the Congress and JD(S) getting just 1 seat each.
Kharge too lost last year's Lok Sabha polls. In fact, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had openly said in Parliament that the BJP will defeat him. The party succeeded by fielding Congress rebel Umesh Jadhav against Kharge. But now he looks set to enter the upper house and take on the ruling party.
Top Congress sources also say that Mallikarjun Kharge will be made leader of opposition in the Rajya Sabha. Currently Ghulam Nabi Azad holds that position and his tenure has come to an end. Sources say this time he will not be given a Rajya Sabha ticket and the Congress wants a strong contender to lead the opposition in the upper house.
Sonia Gandhi has reportedly requested Deve Gowda to contest the upcoming Rajya Sabha polls and promised votes of Congress MLAs to get him elected. Sources from the both the Congress and JD(S) say that the Congress chief promised support only if Deve Gowda contests. The JD(S) national president, who sacrificed his Lok Sabha seat Hassan for grandson Prajwal Revanna, was forced to contest from the Tumkur constituency in 2019. But he lost the polls.
The Rajya Sabha terms of Congress’s Rajiv Gowda and BK Hariprasad, the BJP’s Prabhakar Kore and JD(S)’s Kupendra Reddy have ended. The Congress currently has 67 MLAs and the JD(S) has 34. A total of 48 votes are required to win a seat. The Congress can easily elect one member, but cannot send two candidates to the Rajya Sabha. The JD(S) needs 14 more votes. Keeping the numbers game in mind, the Congress has pitched the idea of backing Gowda.
HD Deve Gowda has won 13 direct elections since 1962. That year he entered the Karnataka assembly as an independent MLA from Holenarasipura constituency. He was elected from the same seat to the assembly for six consecutive terms from 1962 to 1989. Since contesting through the 'backdoor' is against Gowda’s policy, he has so far refused to enter the Rajya Sabha elections.
However, his son HD Kumaraswamy and other JD(S) leaders have reportedly suggested to him to take up the Congress’s offer. According to them, it will boost the JD(S) cadre and the party at the national level. And to convince him, all JD(S) law makers, including its lone MP Prajwal Revanna, and other party leaders gathered at Friday's meet.
According to sources, Sonia’s decision has left former chief minister Siddaramaiah and his associates in a spot of bother. Siddaramaiah is reportedly completely against the idea of sending Gowda to the Rajya Sabha. Sources say, he told the party high command that Gowda and his family always use the Congress to gain power and abuse them in public later.
After failing to get the majority mark in the 2018 Karnataka assembly elections, Siddaramaiah had to keep quiet when the Congress supported the JD(S) to form the government. He never wanted to back Deve Gowda and HD Kumaraswamy. However, the high command decided to keep the BJP out of power and, hence, sidelined Siddaramaiah and supported Kumaraswamy. When the coalition government collapsed, the Gowdas blamed Siddaramaiah and the Congress openly. Now, Siddaramaiah is using this as an example to persuade Sonia Gandhi, sources say.
On the other hand, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar is reportedly trying to convince Deve Gowda to contest the elections. Recently, Shivakumar visited Gowda’s residence to wish him on his 87th birthday. During the visit, the Congress leader requested him to contest for the Rajya Sabha and promised him support.
Shivakumar is hoping to become the chief minister of Karnataka in the next elections, say sources, and he may need JD(S) support to claim power. This is the reason he has made peace with the Gowdas and is staying close to them. The Congress troubleshooter had an enmity with the Gowdas for decades. But he managed to clean up the wounds while forming the coalition government.
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