Bengaluru: After months of wrangling and delay, the Karnataka government has finally filled four long-vacant seats in the Legislative Council, with Governor Thaawar Chand Gehlot giving his assent on Sunday.
The new members are KPCC media wing chairman Ramesh Babu, KPCC NRI cell chairperson Arathi Krishna, senior journalist K Shivakumar, and social activist FH Jakkappanavar. Their inclusion brings Congress’s tally to 37 in the 75-member Upper House — exactly matching the combined strength of the opposition. The BJP holds 30 seats, including chairman Basavaraj Horatti, its ally JD(S) controls seven, and Lakhan Jarkiholi continues as the lone independent. Of the total 11 nominated seats, Congress now accounts for a significant share.
The vacancies had been pending for months — three since October last year, and one earlier this year after CP Yogeshwara resigned upon switching from BJP to Congress to contest the Channapatna bypoll. The government forwarded its final recommendations to Raj Bhavan on August 25. In the interim, Congress was repeatedly embarrassed when opposition numbers prevailed in the Council.
The most striking setback came last month when the Karnataka Souharda Sahakari (Amendment) Bill, 2025, was defeated 23-27 after ten Congress MLCs failed to attend. Though the bill was later reintroduced and passed, the episode exposed the ruling party’s weakness. “This will not repeat with our improved strength,” assured Congress chief whip Saleem Ahmed. “We have no wish to bulldoze the opposition with our majority (Jarkiholi is inclined towards Congress), so the opposition should set aside politics and constructively participate in lawmaking.”
Sources say the prolonged delay stemmed largely from factional battles between Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy DK Shivakumar. The original list — prepared as early as June — featured Siddaramaiah’s former media adviser Dinesh Amin Mattu and DG Sagar, considered under the Dalit quota. But Shivakumar’s camp resisted Mattu’s nomination, while Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge’s faction opposed Sagar, who had once contested against Kharge in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls from Gulbarga on a JD(S) ticket before recently joining Congress.
The final choices, party insiders say, underline Kharge’s growing clout in the state unit. Two of the new members — Shivakumar and Jakkappanavar — are Dalits from the Right sect and viewed as close to Kharge. Ramesh Babu, from the Balija community, is also considered a Kharge loyalist. “It is beyond doubt that I was given an opportunity due to Kharge’s blessings. The CM and DCM supported me, and I am grateful to them and the high command,” said Jakkappanavar.
Defending the decision to induct two Dalits from the Right sect, IT-BT and RDPR minister Priyank Kharge argued that Congress already had three Dalit MLCs — A Vasanth Kumar, D Thimmaiah, and Sudham Das — all from the Left sect. “The idea is to provide equitable representation in all communities, as the Congress party is steadfastly committed to the spirit of social justice,” he explained. “Their nominations are a corrective measure.”
Despite the governor’s assent, the process was not free from controversy. Dissent surfaced within Congress ranks, and council chairman Basavaraj Horatti is said to have raised concerns in a letter to the chief minister.
Comments
Add new comment