Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls: Vote shortage plagues all parties

The stage is for a contest in the June 11 Rajya Sabha elections in Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana even as union ministers Piyush Goyal and Suresh Prabhu, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram, JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav and all six nominees of AIADMK and DMK in Tamil Nadu were elected unopposed.

A contest is imminent in Karnataka where five candidates, including Union Minister Nirmala Seetharaman and senior Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes, are vying for four Rajya Sabha seats.

Besides Ramesh and Fernandes, the state's ruling Congress has fielded former IPS officer Ramamurthy, giving anxious time to JD(S) which needs five additional votes to see its candidate B M Farooq through as it has 40 members. The required strength for victory is 45 votes.

To JD-S' discomfiture, five of its MLAs, including Zameer Ahmed, have reportedly decided to back the third candidate of Congress which is sure of two seats but falls short of numbers for the third candidate. 

Congress has 122 MLAs and needs extra 13 votes to ensure the victory of its third candidate, with Chief Minister seeking the support of 11 independents and five JD-S rebel legislators.

BJP is also short of one vote but is confident of making up the shortfall.

• Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls
• vote shortage