BJP rules out another Rajya Sabha term for HD Deve Gowda, picks M Nagaraja

3 min readBengaluruJun 8, 2026 01:06 PM IST

Despite expectations in the JD(S) that its coalition partner in the state would back HD Deve Gowda, the BJP chose M Nagaraja, an OBC, instead.

In a midnight announcement, the BJP picked Prof M Nagaraja as its candidate for the biennial Rajya Sabha elections from Karnataka, signalling the end of the parliamentary career of the 93-year-old JD(S) patriarch and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda.

Despite expectations in the JD(S) that its coalition partner in the state would back the senior politician, the Bharatiya Janata Party chose Nagaraja, an OBC, instead.

The JD(S) also did not get a candidate assured of winning in the polls for the Legislative Council seats. The BJP picked Lingaraj Patil, a Lingayat and former president of the state disciplinary committee, and Raghu Kautilya, who heads the state OBC Morcha. While both Nagaraja and Patil hail from Hubballi, Raghu hails from Mysuru.

The NDA coalition, meanwhile, is learnt to have finalised one more candidate, JD(S) leader Govindaraju, to contest the polls scheduled for June 18. As a result, eight candidates will be in the fray for the seven seats up for grabs.

While the ruling Congress can win four of the seven seats by virtue of its numbers in the Legislative Assembly, it has also announced a fifth candidate in the hope that the Opposition will field only two. Govindaraju’s last-minute nomination will ensure a contest for one of the seven seats.

The Congress slammed the coalition partners soon after the candidate list was announced.

In a post on X, AICC general secretary in charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, accused the BJP of denying Gowda a Rajya Sabha nomination.

Story continues below this ad

“Yesterday in the dead of the night, BJP has denied a Rajya Sabha nomination to Former Prime Minister, H D Deve Gowda,” Surjewala said, adding that the party chose the leader in charge of constructing district BJP offices over the ex-PM.

“The constant humiliation heaped upon JD(S) by BJP and its leadership and its repeated acceptance by (Union Minister) H D Kumaraswamy merely for sticking to ministerial chair at any cost is highly astonishing and eye opening. Further, accepting this insult is an absolute extreme,” he said.

Noting that while Gowda had lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, Surjewala said that, despite their political differences, the Congress had extended its support to elect the senior JD(S) leader to Rajya Sabha in 2020.

“Deve Gowda had earlier said and maintained his strong Opposition to BJP, going to the extent of publicly stating that he will “disown Kumaraswamy”, if he joins hands with BJP. Despite all these claims, in October 2023, JD(S) & Kumaraswamy entered into an alliance with BJP and Kumaraswamy became Union Minister in Modi Govt with Heavy Industries portfolio,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

According to Surjewala, the reaction “tells us – POWER AT ANY COST, POWER AT ALL COSTS – is the one and only motto of JD(S) in Karnataka now.”