Election of Council chairperson today

Election to the post of Legislative Council chairperson will be held at 11 am on Thursday. D H Shankarmurthy, the present chairperson, is the sole candidate for the post.

Four motions were moved by the BJP in the name of Shankarmurthy on Wednesday. While the first motion was moved by Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda and seconded by chief whip A H Shivayogiswamy, the second, third and fourth motions were moved by BJP MLCs including Madhusudan, Arun Shahpur, Raghunath Rao Malkapure and seconded by Ganesh Karnik, A R Siddaramanna and Narayansa Bandage.

These motions will be taken up succussively by the House on Thursday. The first motion will be voice vote, and if that motion is carried, the pro tem chairperson will declare the chairperson elect. Governor H R Bhardwaj has appointed Congress MLC M V Rajashekaran as the pro tem chairperson to carry forward the proceedings.

The House will not be required to adopt the remaining motions, as Shanakarmurthy is likely to be elected in the first round itself. Prior to the elections, BJP’s Amarnath Patil who was elected from North East Graduates’ constituency will take his oath.