K C Ramamurthy likely to get into RS unopposed

Former IPS officer KC Ramamurthy of the BJP is likely to get re-elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka unopposed, with neither the Congress nor the JD(S) nominating a candidate Monday, which was the last day to do so.

Two other candidates - independent Dr K Padmaraj and Sri Venkateshwar Mahaswami of the Hindustan Janata Party - have also filed their nomination. However, their nominations lack 10 signatures as approvers, which is compulsory, according to the Karnataka Legislative Assembly secretariat.

All nominations will be scrutinised on December 3. Ramamurthy is likely to be declared as elected on December 5, which is the last date to withdraw the nominations. Polling, if necessary, is scheduled to be held on December 12.

There was speculation that the Congress and the JD(S) might field a joint candidate based on the numbers game in the Assembly following the December 5 bypolls.

When he was with the Congress, Ramamurthy was elected to the Rajya Sabha in July 2016 and his term was to end on June 30, 2022. Following his resignation in October, Ramamurthy joined the BJP.