As many as 57 candidates have filed their nomination papers in the four Legislative Council constituencies going to the polls in the State. Thursday was the last day for filing nominations.
The final list of candidates in the fray will be known on October 12, the last date for withdrawal of nominations. There are a few candidates who have rebelled against their respective parties and filed nominations, and they are expected to withdraw from the race.
Bangalore Teachers, Karnataka South-east Graduates, North-east Teachers, and Karnataka West Graduates constituencies are going to the poll on October 28, following the retirement of members on June 30. The polls had been deferred by the Election Commission owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. The counting of votes will be taken up on November 2.
Number game
Currently in the 75-member Upper House, the Congress has 28 members while the BJP has 27. The Janata Dal (Secular) has 14 members, besides Chairman K. Prathapchandra Shetty and an Independent. The elections are seen as important by both the ruling BJP and the Congress to increase the number in the Upper House. Incidentally, on the last day of the legislature session a fortnight ago, the combined Opposition — Congress and JD(S) — defeated a crucial Bill bringing about changes to labour laws, and stalled two more Bills pertaining to the Land Reforms Act and the APMC Act.
Those in fray
Among those in the fray include Sharanappa Mattur (Congress) in the North-east Teachers constituency, Puttanna (BJP) in Bangalore Teachers constituency, R. Chowdareddy (Janata Dal-Secular) in Karnataka South-east Graduates constituency and S.V. Sankanur (BJP) in Karnataka West Graduates constituency whose retirement earlier had caused the vacancy in the Council. The other prominent candidates in the fray include former MLCs Sashil Namoshi (BJP) from North-east Teachers constituency and Ramesh Babu (Congress) from South-east Graduates constituency.
The highest number of candidates are in the Karnataka West Graduates constituency — 19, while the North-east Teachers constituency has the lowest at 16.
