The Hindu : Karnataka News : Venkaiah, Ramaswamy elected to Rajya Sabha

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Jun 29, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Venkaiah, Ramaswamy elected to Rajya Sabha

By Our Staff Reporter

Hariprasad, Oscar Fernandes and M.A.M. Ramaswamy congratulating one another after they won the Rajya Sabha election, in Bangalore on Monday. — Photo: K. Gopinathan

BANGALORE, JUNE 28. The Congress managed to muster the support of independent MLAs and secured two of the four seats in Rajya Sabha from the State in the biennial elections held today. The remaining seats went to the BJP and the Janata Dal (Secular).

Following the development, which was on expected lines, the second candidate fielded by the BJP, Shakunthala Hegde, wife of the late Ramakrishna Hegde, tasted defeat.

The four winning candidates from the State are the Union Minister of State for Statistics and Programme Implementation, Oscar Fernandes, and the All India Congress Committee Secretary, B.K. Hariprasad (both Congress), the BJP president, M. Venkaiah Naidu, and the industrialist from Tamil Nadu, M.A.M. Ramaswamy.

The support given by the independents to the Congress and the transfer of the surplus votes by the Janata Dal (S) saw the two Congress candidates through. The Congress, which has 65 members in the House, was in need of 25 votes to get Mr. Haripasad elected, whereas the BJP with its 79 members and five members of its electoral ally, the Janata Dal (United), needed only six votes to get its second candidate, Ms. Hegde elected.

What was of interest was that Mr. Hariprasad, who was the second candidate of the Congress, secured the highest number of votes — 48. The party's first candidate, Mr. Fernandes, secured 46 votes.

The first candidate of the BJP, Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, got 47 votes and Mr. Ramaswamy 46. Ms. Hegde secured 37 votes, two short of the combined votes of the BJP and the Janata Dal (U).

Despite the system of open ballot adopted for the elections, it is said two of the Janata Dal (U) members indulged in cross voting. That three of the candidates fielded by the ruling coalition — Congress and the Janata Dal (S) — managed to win is seen as a consolidation of the alliance forged after the Assembly elections. The parties, which fought each other in the elections to the Legislative Council held on June 24, came together to defeat one of the BJP candidates.

A first-time member, Mr. Ramaswamy, who was asked whether he would support the cause of the farmers of Karnataka on the Cauvery river water issue as he was from Tamil Nadu, said he would work for an amicable solution to the pending problems between the two States.

He was for the wellbeing of the people in the two States. But when it came to the development of industries, he said he would work for the progress of the State.

The MLA from Heggadadevana Kote, Venkatesh, felicitated him with a shawl and the traditional Mysore turban.

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