: In an apparent relief to Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka Laxman Savadi, the BJP central leadership approved his name to contest the Legislative Council by-election scheduled for February 17.
The BJP leadership has cleared Savadi's name, a party press release said on Saturday.
Savadi who had lost the Assembly elections in 2018 was made one among the three deputy chief ministers after the BJP came to power in July 2019.
His continuation as the deputy chief minister depended on his membership in either of the two Houses of the Karnataka legislature.
The only option at this juncture was securing a seat in the Legislature Council.
After Congress MLA Rizwan Arshad won the Assembly election, he resigned from the Council, leaving one MLC seat vacant.
The election notification was issued on January 30 and the last date of filing the nomination is February 6.