As the race for the fourth seat of the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka intensified with candidates of all the three parties filing the nomination, political observers feel that the BJP seems to be having an edge to win the seat in the current circumstances if there is no large-scale cross-voting in favour of the Congress candidate. The move of the Janata Dal (Secular) is being observed keenly as its stand appears to be a key factor.
On Tuesday, the last day for filing the nominations, BJP candidates — Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kannada actor Jaggesh, and MLC Lahar Singh Siroya, and JD(S) candidate and former Rajya Sabha member Kupendra Reddy filed their nominations. On Monday, the Congress, which sprung a surprise by fielding the second candidate, saw both its nominees — former Minister Jairam Ramesh and Mansoor Ali Khan — file their papers.
