Congress secured a decisive victory in the Karnataka Legislative Council polls, winning five of the seven seats. The result is a significant early win for CM DK Shivakumar’s leadership. The BJP managed to secure one seat in the biennial elections.
The Congress secured a decisive victory in the Karnataka Legislative Council biennial elections, winning five out of the seven seats, as results marked a strong performance for the party in a key early test under the leadership of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. The five Congress winning candidates include BK Hariprasad, Tippannanappa Kamakanoor, PV Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli, and Vinay Kartik.
Celebrating the outcome, Shivakumar congratulated the winning candidates and expressed confidence in their continued public service. “Heartfelt congratulations to the Congress party candidates Shri B.K. Hariprasad, Shri Tippannanappa Kamakanoor, Shri P.V. Mohan, Shri Shivanna Malavalli, and Shri Vinay Kartik, who have secured victory in the Legislative Council elections. We wish that your service to the people continues ceaselessly, and that your contributions to the state’s development remain immeasurable,” he posted on X. ವಿಧಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗೆಲುವು ಸಾಧಿಸಿದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಬಿ.ಕೆ. ಹರಿಪ್ರಸಾದ್, ಶ್ರೀ ತಿಪ್ಪಣ್ಣಪ್ಪ ಕಮಕನೂರ್, ಶ್ರೀ ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಮೋಹನ್, ಶ್ರೀ ಶಿವಣ್ಣ ಮಳವಳ್ಳಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಶ್ರೀ ವಿನಯ್ ಕಾರ್ತಿಕ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಹಾರ್ದಿಕ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು. ನಿಮ್ಮ ಜನಸೇವೆ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿರಲಿ, ನಾಡಿನ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕೊಡುಗೆ… pic.twitter.com/RNp2YGSMdB — DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) June 18, 2026
CM Shivakumar Credits Party Unity
Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar credited the party leadership for finalising candidates and managing a strong show of support in the House. “Today, the election was not expected. I thought that there would be no elections. But the JDS and BJP wanted to fight the elections. The Congress party and the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi finalised the candidates, who have been working in the party throughout the country,” he said.
Shivakumar added that the result reflected a broad consensus among legislators, including support from members across party lines. “Today, a very big mandate has been given among the legislators. Many of my different political parties, cutting across party lines, have voted in favour of the government. They have agreed on the policies. I thank all the legislators who have helped us, who have voted for us. We stood unitedly, and these are the results of the unity of the Congress party in the country,” he added.
Winning Candidates Thank Party Leadership
Among the winners, Congress candidate Tippannappa Kamaknoor also expressed gratitude to the party leadership following his victory. “The Congress Party won the Legislative Council for the third time. I congratulate the KPCC and the AICC leaders of the Congress Party. I will work very well with the party. I work for the poor people. I will try to bring the Congress Party to power in the state in 2028,” he said.
Congress candidate PV Mohan said the win belonged to party workers and credited the leadership of the Congress high command for recognising his work. Speaking to reporters, Mohan said, “I’m dedicating the victory to my party men, my colleagues, my workers.”
Responding to questions on party support and future responsibilities, he said, “Yeah, if you work, the party will give a good opportunity. I’m a true Congressman, the party recognised me.” On his organisational role, he added, “Whatever responsibility they’ll give, I’ll work for them.”
“I’m a small man. I’m very happy, Rahul-ji, KC Venugopal-ji, all recognised my work. They gave me a good platform to show my ability. Definitely, I will fulfil their trust,” he added.
Furthermore, Shivanna Malavalli thanked the party leadership, including senior state and national leaders, after his victory in the Council polls. “I’m very much thankful to my national leaders, state leaders and KPCC president BK Hariprasad ji, former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah ji and present Chief Minister DK Shivakumar ji and Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara ji. And I’m thankful to all and grateful to all our MLAs,” he said.
Responding to questions on his priorities, he said his focus would remain on student welfare. “I am a student-oriented thinker. I am always thinking about our students of the state. I am fighting for the student’s welfare programs and students’ development programs,” he said.
BJP Secures One Seat
Meanwhile, BJP candidate Raghu R Kautilya also won one of the seats, marking a presence for the opposition in the contest. “I am really happy, I am now the state BJP OBC morcha president. I represent the most backward community. BJP is for the social justice, the Constitution and democracy intention. I am grateful to the high command,” Kautilya said.
Results an Endorsement of Congress Governance: Surjewala
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the results reflected a strong mandate in favour of Congress candidates and its governance model in Karnataka. “In the first round of the Legislative Council elections, all five Congress candidates won with a landslide victory. Congress had 135 votes, but it won 151,” Surjewala said.
He added that the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) suffered losses in their expected vote share. “The BJP lost 7 votes, falling short of 64, and the Janata Dal won 14 votes instead of 18,” he said.
Surjewala said the results indicated rejection of opposition politics and endorsement of Congress welfare guarantees. “This vote is a vote for positive politics… On one side is the negative politics of the BJP and the Janata Dal, which wanted to abolish the Congress’s 5 guarantees,” he said.
He further claimed that Congress’ welfare schemes had strong public and legislative backing. “Today, their own MLAs expressed no confidence in the BJP and Janata Dal leadership… the Congress’s 5 guarantees, through which Rs 56,000 crore are being transferred annually to the accounts of the poor, ordinary women, and the needy, are the correct policy,” Surjewala said.
He added that the mandate reflected support for development-oriented governance. “This path of progress and development is the right path, a positive vote, and therefore, thanks to all the MLAs who voted in favour of Karnataka,” he said.
Election Process and Turnout
Polling for the seven Legislative Council seats was held between 9 am and 4 pm, while counting began at 5 pm on the same day. Eight candidates were in the fray, including five from the Congress, two from the BJP, and one from the JD(S). The seven seats were earlier held by members, including Govinda Raju, Naseer Ahmed, N Nagaraju (MTB), Prathap Simha Nayak K, Tippannappa, Sunil Vallyapur, and BK Hariprasad.
The results come after polling for the seven seats concluded at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru with all 222 MLAs casting their votes, reflecting 100 per cent turnout in the electoral process based on proportional representation by legislators. With the results now declared, the Karnataka Legislative Council election is being seen as an important early test of organisational strength under the current Congress leadership in the state. (ANI)
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