The February 17 bypoll to fill up one vacant Legislative Council seat is likely to be a cakewalk for Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi as his only opponent, independent candidate B R Anil Kumar backed off from the contest on Saturday.
Kumar, a Congressman, had filed his nomination as an Independent and had the support of H D Revanna of the JD(S) and other legislators from the regional party loyal to him. There was no clarity, however, on whether the Congress was ready to back Kumar. In fact, Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Siddaramaiah had said that no decision had been taken or discussion held on Kumar’s candidature.
As a result, Kumar informed the Legislative Council secretariat that he wished to “retire” from the contest. Sources in the Legislative Council secretariat said that an election will be held nonetheless on February 17 since February 10 was the last date for candidate to withdraw from the fray.
The bypoll is crucial for Savadi as he must get elected to the Council before February 19 to continue in office. Despite losing the 2018 Assembly polls, Savadi was inducted into the Yediyurappa Cabinet and elevated as Deputy CM. Since he was unelected, Savadi had six months to join either one of the Houses - Assembly or Council.
In the 222-member Assembly, the BJP has 117 (including the support of one Independent), whereas the Congress has 68 and the JD(S) has 34. There is another Independent, one BSP MLA and one nominated member who has voting rights.
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