Real estate baron’s entry stirs Karnataka Rajya Sabha pot, Congress prepares for the heat

HE MAY have slim prospects of victory, but the entry of multi-millionaire real estate baron D Kupendra Reddy in the Rajya Sabha poll fray in Karnataka means there are now five candidates for four seats, forcing an election on February 27. The 63-year-old, who declared Rs 1,200 crore assets in his election affidavit, has been fielded by the JD(S)-BJP combine, in what is seen as a bid to test the unity and resolve of the state’s ruling Congress.

As numbers stand in the Karnataka Assembly, the Congress is assured of three seats, and the BJP of one.

“The cat has been set among the pigeons. The move is to create confusion in Congress ranks, as there are many disgruntled individuals and divisions in the party that can be exploited,” a senior leader in the JD(S)-BJP alliance said.

Ironically, in the 2022 Rajya Sabha polls, it had been cross-voting by two JD(S) MLAs that had caused the surprise defeat of Reddy, then a JD(S) candidate. JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy is believed to be still smarting from the loss of his close aide, which happened when the Congress did not transfer its excess votes to Reddy, and instead fielded an extra candidate, Mansoor Ali Khan. The BJP’s dark horse Lahar Singh won the seat after two JDS MLAs cross-voted, and later joined the Congress.

Each Rajya Sabha candidate needs at least 45 votes in the 224-MLA Karnataka Assembly to win a Rajya Sabha seat from the state. The Congress with 135 MLAs has the exact number to elect its three candidates — Ajay Maken, a central Congress leader seen as the choice of the high command; Nasir Hussain, a confidant of Mallikarjun Kharge; and party faithful G C Chandrashekhar. Party sources said they were also confident of the support of three Independents.

The BJP has 66