BJP, Congress vie for post of Deputy Chairman in Legislative Council

M.K. Pranesh of the BJP and Aravind Kumar Arali of the Congress filed nominations for the election to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council

BJP’s M.K. Pranesh and Aravind Kumar Arali of the Congress have filed nominations for the election to the post of Deputy Chairman of the Legislative Council, scheduled for December 23.

The two candidates submitted their respective nomination papers in the office of Legislative Council Secretary K.R. Mahalakshmi in Suvarna Vidhana Soudha in Belagavi on December 22.

Mr. Pranesh was accompanied by former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, Ministers R. Ashoka, B.A. Basavaraj, Govind Karjol and J.C. Madhuswamy.

Mr. Arali was accompanied by Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council B.K. Hariprasad, Congress party’s chief whip in the Legislative Council Prakash Rathod, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) working president Saleem Ahmed, and MLC Dinesh Gooligowda.

The BJP has 39 members in the 75-member Legislative Council. The Congress has 26 members, JD(S) has 8 members, while one is an independent and one seat is vacant.

Mr. Hariprasad said the Congress party hoped that the BJP would leave the post of Deputy Chairman to the opposition Congress in keeping with the best practices of parliamentary democracy.

He said the Congress, which facilitated the election of Basavaraj Horatti as Chairman of the Legislative Council unopposed, would not have fielded a candidate if the ruling party had fielded a woman.