Rewarding former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar, who left the BJP to join the party ahead of Assembly elections, Congress on Monday announced his candidature for the by-election to Karnataka Legislative Council along with Minister N S Boseraju and former MLC Tippannappa Kamaknoor.
Accommodation of Shettar in the Council is being seen as part of the political messaging by the Congress to engage with leaders having strong RSS-BJP moorings if they are willing to jump the ship. The party earlier learnt to have promised to make Shettar as Legislative Council Chairman after making him MLC. By making him as Chairman of Legislative Council, the Congress wanted to send a message among Lingayats ahead of next year’s Lok Sabha polls that the party honoured the leader from the community despite him losing the assembly polls.
The three MLC seats fell vacant following the resignations by Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar and Laxman Savadi, who all fought the May 10 Assembly elections. Among them, only Savadi, who joined the Congress after leaving the BJP, won the polls while Chinchansur, who joined the Congress from BJP, and Shankar, who turned independent after the BJP denied him seat, lost.
The bypolls for the three MLCs to be elected by MLAs will be held on June 30. Since three candidates will be elected by members of the Legislative Assembly, Congress is expected to win all its candidates. If they win, Shettar has his term till June 2028, Kamaknoor June 2026 and Boseraju till June 2024.
Shettar, a former BJP Chief Minister, who joined the Congress on the eve of Assembly polls, had lost the election from his stronghold Hubballi-Dharwad (Central) seat. He was considered a strong contender for a spot in Siddaramaiah's Ministry but Congress decision not to induct defeated candidates in the Cabinet had nixed his chances.
However, the Congress decided to bring him to the Council with sources indicating that Shettar, a Lingayat strongman, could become the Chairman of the Council. It has also sent a message to Shettar by giving him the seat with maximum tenure that it respects his contribution to the party during the elections by attracting Lingayats to the Congress.
Minor Irrigation minister Boseraju, the only leader to be inducted in the Cabinet without being an MLA or MLC, will be the lone representative of the Council in Siddaramaiah's team. His election to either the Assembly or Council is a Constitutional necessity.
Though earlier speculation was that the Congress may field Chinchansur, the party gave the ticket to Kamaknoor, who also belongs to Gangamathastha community like Chinchansur.
Kamaknoor, native of Chittapur in Kalaburgi district, is a strong follower of Congress national president Mallikarjuna Kharge. He earlier served as a member of the upper house for a six month period.
Sources in Congress said that Kharge ensured Kamaknoor fielded for MLC elections as giving ticket to him will help Congress president to get support from Gangamathasta community who have a large number of voters in Kalaburgi Lok Sabha constituency. Kharge is planning to contest next year's Lok Sabha elections from Kalaburgi Parliament seat.