Bengaluru: Janata Dal (Secular) general secretary B.M. Farooq on Friday filed his nomination papers for the Rajya Sabha polls from the Karnataka Assembly, scheduled to be held on March 23. Farooq, who contested the RS polls in 2016 pinning his hopes on getting the support of Independent legislators, lost with eight JD(S) legislators cross-voting for Congress candidate.
The JD(S) recently sought the support of Congress to get him elected, dangling the carrot of post-poll alliance in case of fractured mandate in the coming Assembly polls. However, with the Congress not showing any interest, a tough battle is likely. The party has 30 valid votes, as opposed to 44 required to elect its candidate. The JD(S) has announced candidates for the polls to be held in June for the Council from six Teachers and Graduates constituencies.
They are Marithibbe Gowda (South Teachers constituency), Ramesh Babu (South-East Teachers), S.L. Bhoje Gowda (South-West Teachers), L.R. Shivarame Gowda (Bengaluru Graduates), N. Pratap Reddy (North-East Graduates) and Ashwin Perira (South-West Graduates).
