There was a surprise on Tuesday ahead of the election to the post of the Legislative Council chairman, which is being seen as a test for the ruling coalition, with senior Congress leader from coastal Karnataka K. Prathapchandra Shetty filing his nomination. He is set to be elected unopposed in Wednesday’s poll. The coalition partners bargained to get the post till late on Monday.
Though the Congress got the post, the surprise was the party’s choice of candidate, as former Minister S.R. Patil, a close aide of former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, had been the front-runner for the post till Tuesday morning. Basavaraj Horatti’s candidature had been pitched by the JD(S).
Mr. Shetty (69), a former banker from Halady village in Kundapur taluk, is a three-time MLC and a four-time MLA. He represented Kundapur constituency in the 1983, the 1985, the 1989, and the 1994 assemblies on Congress ticket.
Setback to Siddaramaiah
The choice of Mr. Shetty is being seen within Congress circles as a setback to Mr. Siddaramaiah.
Senior party leaders justified the selection citing the decision was made keeping the Lok Sabha elections in mind, with the party hoping for a revival in coastal Karnataka.
Sources in the former Chief Minister’s camp said that before Mr. Siddaramaiah embarked on his foreign tour he had recommended the name of Mr. Patil, who helped him win Badami against the BJP’s B. Sriramulu. “We are happy that the post came to the party since we also have numerical strength but we are quite surprised with the choice,” they said. Sources said former Union Minister Oscar Fernandes, who is in the inner circle of the Congress High Command, played a key role in getting Mr. Shetty the post.
“Mr. Siddaramaiah should have been there. We will take up the issue once he returns from his foreign tour,” a senior Congress leader said.
Meanwhile, a senior JD(S) leader said that the party let go of its demand for the post after former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda met Congress leaders in Delhi.
“Mr. Horatti was informed by Mr. Gowda on phone on Tuesday morning. He let go of the official car and arrived at Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in a private car,” the leader said. Speaking to reporters after filing the nomination, Mr. Shetty said the party had entrusted upon him a major responsibility by recognising his service. “I will manage it responsibly,” he added.
