Bengaluru: BJP candidate K C Ramamurthy was elected to the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, December 5. As today was the last date to file the nominations, and there were no other contenders for the seat, the win went to Ramamurthy.
The by-election was necessitated due to Ramamurthy’s departure from the Upper House of the Parliament. A former IPS officer, Ramamurthy recently resigned as Rajya Sabha MP after quitting the Congress and joined the BJP in October this year.
Initially, polling for the RS seat was scheduled to be held on December 12, but the Congress and the JD(S) did not field a concensus candidate.
The former state coalition partners were expected to field a common candidate but failed to do so. According to Congress sources, former JD(S) MP L R Shivarame Gowda and retired High Court judge H N Nagamohan Das’s names were discussed as possible candidates.
According to a repoort by TOI JD(S) state president H K Kumaraswamy laid blame on the Congress stating that they were supposed to decide the candidate as they have relatively more votes.
Sources in the Congress blamed the indecision on differences within the party. The anti-Siddaramaiah camp reportedly wanted to field a consensus candidate, but the former chief minister was not in favour of joining hands with the JD(S).
Two independent candidates had filed their nominations to contest in the polls, but their candidatures were rejected as their papers reportedly did not include the names of proposers, a mandatory requirement.
Upon his victory, Ramamurthy was congratulated by Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, who said, “This win will help the BJP increase its numbers in the Rajya Sabha and strengthen the party even more.”
