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Fakir Chand in Bangalore
Vijay Mallya, the flamboyant liquor baron from Bangalore, is at it again!
On Thursday, the last date for filing nominations for the biennial election to four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, a beaming Mallya filed his papers with the returning officer in Bangalore as an independent candidate backed by both factions of the Janata Dal.
Though the warring factions of the Dal command only 25 votes in the state assembly, Mallya is banking on the 13 surplus votes from the ruling Congress-led alliance and on the other independent MLAs and rebel legislators of the BJP to cobble up the required 45 votes.
Entering the fray for the second time after his defeat two years ago, the bearded chairman of the UB Group appears confident of making it to the hallowed precincts of Parliament this time.
Mallya polled 35 votes last time with the support of some Congress legislators who voted for him despite a whip against doing so. Then too the Janata Dal factions had supported his candidature, but he lost to Bharatiya Janata Party nominee M Rajashekhara Murthy.
This time, however, it is the positive stand of the Congress that has made Mallya's prospects brighter. The 13 independent MLAs affiliated to the ruling party are expected to back him.
"The 13 MLAs affiliated to the Congress would rather vote for an independent candidate like Mallya than allow BJP candidate Taradevi Siddarth to win the fourth seat," a party official told rediff.com
With 135 MLAs, the Congress will have no problem in seeing its three nominees through.
As in March 2000, Mallya's entry as an independent candidate has made the contest exciting as the Congress will be forced to support a candidate sponsored by its bitter rivals in the state so as to defeat the nominee of the communal forces (read, BJP).
As such, Taradevi faces an uphill task in securing the required support from independent or other party MLAs. Though the BJP continues to be the leading opposition party in the state with 40 MLAs, its candidate needs five more votes to pip Mallya. (The suspension of two of its MLAs and the disqualification of a third by the high court recently reduced the effective strength of the BJP to 40 from the original figure of 43.)
Normally, securing five votes should not be such a problem for a party of the BJP's stature. But dissidence in the party may put paid to Taradevi's chances. "The chances of cross-voting by rebel MLAs of the BJP appear high as the disgruntled legislators have been waiting to settle scores with the leadership of the state unit," a political observer remarked after Taradevi filed her nomination papers early this week.
Emerging from the assembly secretariat, where he filed his nomination, Mallya was optimistic of his chances, thanks to the "goodwill being generated from all quarters this time".
Asked why he chose to enter the fray soon after officially stating that he was busy expanding his business globally and hence was not going to pursue his political ambitions, Mallya said his well-wishers made him reconsider his decision.
"I have been advised to enter the fray by state political leaders like Ramakrishna Hegde, who opted out in the wake of his announcement of retiring from active politics, and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda to represent Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. It is their blessings and good wishes that made me change my mind," he claimed.
Asked how he would manage to secure the remaining votes for winning the seat, Mallya said he was in touch with MLAs of all parties. "I am confident that the 20 independents, including the 13 affiliated to the Congress, will stand by me this time, though a firm assurance is awaited from all of them."
Claiming to be a 'son of the soil', Mallya told reporters that he and his family had contributed immensely to the growth and development of Karnataka through various enterprises, hospitals, educational and charitable institutions, and enormous social work.
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