Date:01/12/2003 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2003/12/01/stories/2003120102740600.htm

Southern States - Karnataka

94 in fray for today's Council election

By B.K. Vittal

BANGALORE Nov. 30. The stage is set for tomorrow's elections to fill 25 vacancies in the Legislative Council arising out of the retirement of members from the Local Authorities Constituencies in January next.

The elections is considered significant as they are expected to give a hint, if not a clear indication of, where the major political parties stand with the Assembly elections a little less than a year away.

There are 94 candidates, including four Congress rebels, in the field. The Congress has fielded 23 candidates, followed by the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) and the All India Progressive Janata Dal (AIPJD) 19 each, and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 10.

The Congress holds 13 of the seats against six of the JD (S), three of the AIPJD and two of the BJP and one of the Janata Dal neutral. All the major parties have completed a vigorous campaigning in an endeavour to increase their strength.

The prominent personalities in the fray are Ministers T. John and Basavaraj Patil Humnabad, who are seeking re-election, S.M. Shankar, brother of the Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, and the JD(S) leader, Basavaraj Bommai, and H.S. Shantaveerappa Gowda of the BJP, both of whom are seeking re-election.

The Congress is confident of winning 23 seats. The Minister for Home, M. Mallikarjun Kharge, points out that the party had won half the seats when it was not in such a comfortable position last time.

However, the Congress is facing trouble from within. A number of expulsion orders, including those of senior leaders such as Bheemanna Khandre for allegedly working against the party candidates, shows that all is not well in the organisation and that it has to contend with formidable enemies from within.

As far as the JD (S) and the AIPJD are concerned, even a semblance of their coming together at least at the time of election to defeat their common enemies, the Congress and the BJP, has vanished. The BJP claims it will give a close fight at least in five constituencies and improve its number at least by one.

While the number of seats in Bidar, Gulbarga, Uttara Kannada, Raichur, Bellary, Chitradurga, Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Hassan, Tumkur, Mandya, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Kolar, Kodagu districts is one each, it is two each in Bijapur, Belgaum, Dharwad, Dakshina Kannada, and Mysore districts.

Polling will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. The counting of votes will be taken up on Wednesday.