Karnataka MLC Bypolls: Congress Nominates Ex-CM Jagadish Shettar Along With 2 Other Candidates

The resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar, and Laxman Savadi, who ran in the Assembly elections, left three MLC seats empty.

Former Karnataka chief minister Jagadish Shettar. ( Image Source :Facebook@JagadishShettar )

The governing Congress in Karnataka nominated former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, State Minister and Congress national secretary N S Boseraju, and Tippannappa Kamaknoor for the state's MLC election scheduled to be held on June 30, news agency PTI reported. The resignations of Baburao Chinchansur, R Shankar, and Laxman Savadi, who ran in the Assembly elections, left three MLC seats empty. The Karnataka MLAs will choose the three new MLCs.

Congress fields former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar, party national secretary NS Boseraju, and Tippannappa Kamaknoor for June 30 MLC election

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 19, 2023

However, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the southern state is yet to nominate its candidates for the impending bypolls.

Laxman Savadi, Baburao Chinchansur, and R Shankar resigned from their MLC seats in Karnataka before the assembly elections because they were denied tickets by the BJP.

Shettar served as chief minister of Karnataka for ten months, from July 12, 2012 until May 13, 2013. He was also the Leader of the Opposition and the Assembly Speaker.

Former CM Shettar was also among the BJP leaders who left the party after failing to get a seat. He eventually joined the Congress party, which provided him with a ticket from his Hubballi - Dharwad Central seat.

The six-term MLA received 36.31 percent of the vote and lost to BJP's Mahesh Tenginakai in the assembly elections. The Congress party allegedly promised him a major job, and he is now one of the MLC candidates.

The Congress received 135 seats in the Karnataka assembly election results revealed in May, while the Bharatiya Janata Party received 66 seats out of 224 constituencies. The Janata Dal (Secular) received only 19 seats.