Krishna, Lad Congress nominees for RS polls in Karnataka

New Delhi, June 16 (UNI) The Congress today nominated former chief minister S M Krishan and mining baron Anil Lad for the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka.

Mr M V Rajasekharan, whose Rajya Sabha term came to an end, was nominated for a legislative council seat in the State.

The nominations were approved by Congress president Sonia Gandhi after consultations with senior party leaders, party spokesman Manish Tiwari told reporters.

The nomination of Mr Lad indicates that the Congress and the JD (S) have reached an understanding on supporting each other in the biennial elections to four Rajya Sabha and seven legislative council seats in the State. The Congress, which has 80 members in the House of 224, can win only one seat on its own.

But the party spokesman denied that there was any deal with the JD (S) or any exchange of money in the nomination of Mr Lad, who unsuccessfully contested the Assembly elections from Bellary on the Congress ticket.

''There was no deal.... The Congress never believes in the politics of money nor in the politics of deal,'' he said.

Mr Krishna, a septuagenarian leader of the dominant Vokkaliga community in the State, was Maharashtra Governor before he resigned to campaign for the recent Assembly elections.

The elections, to be held on June 26, were necessitated following the completion of tenure of liquor baron Vijay Mallya, M V Rajshekharan, Janardhan Poojary and Prema Kariappa.

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