87 -year old former PM Deve Gowda to contest in Rajya Sabha polls on Sonia Gandhi's request

Former Prime Minister, Deve Gowda has decided to contest the June 19 Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka, and will be filing his nominations on Tuesday, his son and former Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy said on Monday. He said the former prime minister made his decision following the request of Congress President Sonia Gandhi, several national leaders, and party legislators, and it was not an easy task to "persuade" him to enter the Rajya Sabha.

"Former PM HD Deve Gowda has decided to contest the Rajya Sabha elections at the request of party legislators, Sonia Gandhi, and several national leaders. He is going to file his nominations tomorrow. Thanks to Sri DeveGowda for agreeing to everyone's consensus," Kumaraswamy tweeted. "From the people, former prime minister Deve Gowda has seen success and defeat. By the people, he has acquired higher positions. It was not an easy task to persuade Deve Gowda to enter the Rajya Sabha," he said. 

A minimum of 44 votes are required for candidates to win. If he wins, this will be the second Rajya Sabha entry for 87-year-old Gowda, the first time being in 1996 as Prime Minister. Gowda was defeated in Tumkur constituency by BJP's GS Basavaraj by over 13,000 votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The election is scheduled on June 19 to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, represented by Rajeev Gowda and B K Hariprasad of Congress, Prabhakar Kore of BJP and D Kupendra Reddy of JD(S) that will fall vacant on June 25, with their retirement.