The Congress has decided to field Ayanur Manjunath, who joined the party in August 2023, in the election for the Karnataka Legislative Council from South-West Graduate Constituency.
Mr. Manjunath, who was in the Legislative Council as a member of the BJP, quit the party ahead of the Assembly polls last year and joined the JD(S). He contested for the Assembly from the Shivamogga Assembly seat and lost the deposit. He secured only 8,863 votes. Later, he joined the Congress and was appointed spokesperson.
Mr. Manjunath, 69, has the distinct status of being elected to all four houses of the legislature. He began his career as an MLA from Hosanagara in 1994. He was elected to the Lok Sabha after defeating former Chief Minister S. Bangarappa in 1998. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 2010. He was elected to the Legislative Council in 2018 from the South-West Graduate Constituency. However, he resigned before completing his term. Now, he is contesting again for the same constituency.
