JD(S) may not field candidate for RS polls

 The JD(S) may not field a candidate for Rajya Sabha elections to be held on June 19. But it may support either a Congress or an independent candidate.

The JD(S) has 40 MLAs in the Legislative Assembly and it falls short of five to six votes to win a seat. Instead of fielding a candidate and then trying to cobble up support in the Assembly to win a seat, the JD(S) may allow its members to support a Congress candidate in case its support is sought.

Sources in the party said Kupendra Reddy, a realtor, is likely to contest and the JD(S) may support his candidature. Still, he would have to take the help of independents to win a seat.

There are also speculation that Congress may field P Chidambaram from Karnataka. If this happens, then the JD(S) may not hesitate to support his candidature, it is said.
However, there is no final word on this from the Congress. JD(S) leader H D Deve Gowda has directed his MLA son H D Kumaraswamy to convene a meeting of the party MLAs to elicit their views regarding the elections.