The Hindu : Kalam gets overwhelming support of MLAs

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jul 16, 2002

Southern States

Southern States - Karnataka-Bangalore

Kalam gets overwhelming support of MLAs

By Our Special Correspondent

The MLAs, including senior ministers, queing up to cast their votes in the Presidential election, at the Vidhana Soudha in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: K.Gopinathan

Bangalore July 15. All but three of the 223 eligible members of the Legislative Assembly cast their votes in the 12th Presidential election here today and overwhelmingly for the NDA candidate, A.P.J.Abdul Kalam.

The ruling Congress, the principal Opposition — the BJP, and the Janata Dal (U) committed their votes to Dr. Kalam. Only the Janata Dal (S), which has four members, supported the candidature of the Left parties' nominee, Lakshmi Sahgal.

Dr. Kalam, who was in Bangalore on Sunday, did not campaign. He called on Satya Sai Baba and addressed a gathering of schoolchildren.

Those who voted included the Chief Minister, S.M.Krishna, and his ministers who are members of the Assembly, the Speaker, M.V.Venkatappa, and the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Jagadish Shettar. The independent member from the Indi constituency in Bijapur District, Ravikanth Patil, who has been jailed in Maharashtra in a case of rape and is stated to be on parole, also voted.

The MLAs who did not vote were G.S.Patil (Ron) and J.Alexander (Binnypet) of the Congress, and Shivaputrappa Channabasappa Malagi (Bagewadi) of the JD(U).Three members of the Lok Sabha from the State cast their votes here. They were G.Puttaswamy Gowda (Hassan), Amarsinh V.Patil (Belgaum), and Ambarish (Mandya), all of the Congress. The JD(U) MP from Chitradurga, Shashikumar, could not vote as he arrived late. The rest of the MPs from the State — 24 members of the Lok Sabha, and 12 of the Rajya Sabha — voted in Delhi.

What did not go unnoticed was the fact that all political groups issued a whip to their members on whom they should vote for although the Chief Election Commissioner, J.M.Lyndgoh, had desired that it should not be done. However they denoted the whip as instructions to the legislators.

Of the 224 seats in the Assembly, one (Karwar) is vacant following the murder of the MLA, Vasanth Asnotikar, two years ago. A byelection has not been held there as an election petition is pending in the Karnataka High Court.

The nominated (Anglo-Indian) member, Roger Binny, had no vote in the Presidential election.

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