Bengaluru: Horatti may succeed Prathap Chandra as Council Chairman

Bengaluru: Karnataka Legislative Council Chairman K Prathap Chandra Shetty of the Congress resigned from his post on Thursday paving the way for election of a joint candidate of BJP and JD(S). JD(S) leader Basavaraj Horatti is likely to succeed Shetty as the BJP and JD(S) have formed an alliance.

Shetty, a Congress MLC, against whom the ruling BJP moved a no-confidence motion and with JD(S) too expressing support to it, announced his resignation on the floor of the House before adjourning it for the day.

He subsequently submitted his resignation letter to Deputy Chairman M K Pranesh of the BJP who was elected on January 29 as part of the arrangement between the two parties. The election of the Deputy Chairman was necessitated due to the death of former Deputy Chairman SL Dharmegowda of the JD(S).

Shetty was elected as Chairman in 2018, when the Congress-JD(S) coalition government was in power. With numbers clearly against him, Shetty decided to resign, sources said, the issue of his resignation is also said to have come up for discussion during the Congress Legislature Party meeting held last evening.

Announcing his resignation, Shetty thanked MLCs for their support during his tenure as the Chairman. "The change in numerical strength of the House has come to my notice.

Technically I have time till the next assembly elections to prove majority, but as someone who greatly values morality in life and not wanting to give opportunity for unnecessary discussions, I'm tendering my resignation as the Chairman and submitting it to the Deputy Chairman as per rules," Shetty said.

Currently, the ruling BJP is the single largest party in the Council with 31 members, followed by Congress with 29, including Shetty.

JD(S) has 13 members. Shetty had previously voiced his desire to resign in December (2020) after the Congress lost the tag of the largest party in the Council. But due to the insistence of Congress Legislature Party leader Siddarmaiah, he had continued in the post.

It was reported that following the December 15 ruckus in the Council that Shetty had mulled resigning. That day, the BJP-JDS and Congress members hurled abuses and pushed each other.

Some even pulled down the Deputy Chairman Dharme Gowda from his seat over a row pertaining to the no-confidence motion sought to be moved against Prathap Chandra Shetty.