CM picks 4 politicians for nomination to Council

 Cine actor Jayamala and four Congress leaders, including V S Ugrappa and Iqbal Ahmed Saradagi, are understood to have been selected by the Congress for nomination to the Legislative Council.

The list of names has been finalised after obtaining the Congress high command’s approval. 

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had directed the officials to send the list to Governor H R Bhardwaj on Monday, but it could not be done as the governor had left for Delhi on a private visit.

Davangere district Congress president Abdul Jabbar and Indian National Trade Union Congress member Shanta Kumar are two other names in the list.

The governor is scheduled to return to Bangalore on June 19 and his term is set to end this month. The Congress wants to complete the nomination process before Bhardwaj’s term ends.

Nominations to the Upper House of the Legislature are done to accommodate those who have contributed immensely in the fields of social service, arts, culture and education. Ironically, of the five names cleared by the ruling party, four are Congress leaders. Ugrappa was earlier the leader of the Opposition in the Council and the chief minister is said to have supported his nomination to the Council. Saradagi is a former MP from Gulbarga and he has the backing of Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha. Even Jayamala has been associated with the Congress for many years.

Bhardwaj had refused to nominate V Somanna to the Council in the previous BJP government.

Veerashaivas upset

The Akhila Bharata Veerashiva Mahasabha has taken exception to the Congress not giving representation to the community in the recently held elections to the Upper House of Parliament and the State Legislative Council and warned that the party may have to pay a heavy price if it refuses to learn from its mistakes.

Mohan Kondajji, Rani Satish and sitting MLC M V Rajasekharan, all Lingayats, were hoping to become MLCs.

Mahasabha secretary K N Jayalingappa has in a statement expressed dissatisfaction at Lingayats being left out of the list of nominees to the Council. Interestingly, senior Congress leader and Horticulture Minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa is the president of the Mahasabha.

When contacted, he, however, said he was not aware of the views expressed by the association.