Jairam, Mansoor file for RS polls

NT Correspondent
Bengaluru

The contest for the fourth seat in the Rajya Sabha polls from Karnataka is turning out to be interesting with the Congress on Monday getting a second candidate, Mansoor Ali Khan besides the official candidate  Jairam Ramesh to file his papers for the June 10 poll.
The Congress can win only one  seat on its own but is reportedly planning to put the JD(S) in a quandary. Deve Gowda’s party which has 30 odd MLAs, will not be able to get a candidate of its own to win the poll though it has decided to field Kupendra Reddy. However it can ensure the victory of either a Congress or BJP candidate.  “By fielding Khan, the Congress has put the JD(S) in a spot by testing its secular credentials,” a Congress office-bearer said. He said if JD(S) refuses to support Khan, it will send across a message to Muslim voters that the party is not secular.
 The BJP on its part is trying hard to get JD(S) support for a third Rajya Sabha candidate besides Nirmala Sitharaman and Jaggesh.