Assembly poll victory will help Congress in Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka next year

PTI, New Delhi, May 13, 2023 :  The Congress’ victory in the Karnataka assembly polls is likely to help the party get its candidates elected in three of the four Rajya Sabha seats from the state falling vacant next year.

The tenure of four Rajya Sabha members from the state — Syed Nasir Hussain, G C Chandrashekhar and L Hanumanthaiah of the Congress and Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar of the BJP — ends in 2024.

The BJP, which won 65 of the 224 assembly seats in the state on Saturday, will be able to get its one nominee elected to the Rajya Sabha next year.

The BJP currently has six Rajya Sabha members from Karnataka, including Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.

Of the 12 Rajya Sabha seats from the state, the Congress has five members and the Janata Dal (Secular) one.

Former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is the lone JDS member in the Rajya Sabha.

The tenure of Deve Gowda and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge will end in 2026, along with that of Iranna Kadali and Narayana Koragappa (both of the BJP).

The tenure of four other members, including Sitharaman, will end in 2028.

The Congress returned to power on its own in Karnataka after 10 years, knocking the BJP off its only southern perch on Saturday as voters decisively backed the grand old party desperately seeking electoral revival ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

The party won 136 seats while JDS 19 seats and others won 3.