By IANS,
Bangalore: Over 95,000 members of local bodies in Karnataka will vote Friday to elect 23 members to the state legislative council.
The polls take place amid reports of fresh dissidence in the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and allegations of attempts by opposition parties to topple the state’s first BJP government.
The local authorities are the gram, taluk and zilla panchayats, town municipal councils and city corporations. The members of these authorities and state legislators and parliament members form the electoral college to choose the 23 members to the 75-member council.
Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa, who last month survived an attempt by a section of his financially powerful ministers to replace him, is again under pressure from a group of party legislators to accommodate them in the ministry.
Yeddyurappa Thursday sought to play down media speculation that he would reshuffle the ministry next month to douse the fresh dissidence against him.
“No such plans,” he told reporters in his home district Shimoga, about 275 km from here, responding to reports that an influential religious leader had suggested to him to fulfil the demand of the disgruntled legislators.
A group of around 10 legislators early this week met here to plan their action to make Yeddyurappa accept their demand to drop some ministers and take them in the ministry.
A few ministers were also present at the meeting held under the leadership of M.P. Renukacharya, who represents Honnali constituency in central Karnataka district of Davangere, around 270 km from here.
Renukacharya was one of the vocal legislators to back the Oct-Nov bid by mining barons Tourism Minister G. Janardhana Reddy and his elder brother G. Karunakara Reddy to topple Yeddyurappa.
Following this meeting, there was speculation that Yeddyurappa planned to make Renukacharya a minister and reshuffle the cabinet in January.
While Yeddyurappa was trying to douse the fresh dissidence, one of his supporting ministers Thursday accused opposition Congress and Janata Dal-Secular of attempts to bring down the state’s first BJP ministry which took over in May 2008.
IT and BT minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, known to be a staunch follower of Yeddyurappa, however, asserted in Bangalore that the attempt would not succeed.
His comments were in response to JD-S leader and former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy’s statement Wednesday that he will soon give the state “sweet news”.
Kumaraswamy has stiched an alliance with Congress for Friday’s polls and has been meeting central Congress leaders on the possibility of the two parties forming a government in Karnataka if the BJP ministry collapses.
His father and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda told reporters here that it was for the Congress to take the lead in forming an alternative government in the state. He promised JD-S’ support to Congress in forming the government.
The BJP does not have majority in the council and is hoping to win around 15 seats. The party and the Congress have bagged one each already as their candidates were elected unopposed.
There are over 90 candidates, majority of them independents, in the fray.
Of the 75 members in the council, 25 are elected by members of the assembly, 25 by local authorities and seven each by graduates and teachers. The remaining 11 are nominated.
Elections are held biennially as under statutory provisions one third of the members retire every two years.
Congress held 19 of these 25 seats and is contesting all of them. BJP held four, JD-S one and one seat was vacant.
The Congress has fielded candidates for the 19 seats while the JD-S is contesting eight seats with a ‘friendly fight’ between the two parties for two seats.
At present, the Congress and the BJP have 28 seats each and the JD-S 12. Of the remaining seven, one is chairman of the council, Janata Dal-United has one and Independents three. Two seats from the legislative assembly quota are vacant.
Vote count is on Dec 21.