The ruling Congress won five of seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, with cross-voting from BJP and JD(S) boosting its tally. The BJP won two seats, while the lone JD(S) candidate lost to Congress’s fifth nominee.
The ruling Congress won five out of seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections on Thursday, with cross-voting from BJP and JD(S) ranks boosting its tally well beyond its stated strength. The BJP won two seats, while the lone JD(S) candidate lost to the Congress’s fifth nominee in a close contest.
Congress, which has 135 MLAs according to the official party count, polled 151 votes, 16 more than its strength. All five Congress candidates were declared elected in the first round. The BJP has 64 MLAs but its two candidates together secured only 56 votes, a shortfall of eight. BJP candidate Lingaraj Patil received 27 votes against the 30 assigned to him, while Raghu K polled 29, one short of his quota. JD(S) has 18 MLAs, but its candidate got only 14 votes.
Cross-Voting and Vote Shortfall
As part of the NDA arrangement, the BJP had assigned three of its MLAs to vote for the JD(S) candidate, taking the JD(S) tally to 21. Yet the JD(S) ended up with just 14, seven votes short. A key question was raised after the counting was over: ” Where did 12 NDA votes go?, Reacting to it karnataka BJP said we will come to know who crossed-voted and action will be taken against those who cross-voted. The combined shortfall for NDA stands at 12 votes, eight from BJP and four from JD(S). It remains unclear how many of these were cross-votes in favour of Congress and how many were declared invalid. Election officials are yet to provide a final breakdown.
Political Reactions to the Outcome
CM Attributes Win to ‘Conscience Vote’
Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said they had no information about cross-voting. “Some of them might have cast a conscience vote, and allegations made by the BJP and JDS are frustration” Shivakumar said. The CM further added that as both Shivaram Hebbar and ST Somashekar were expelled from the BJP, and they wanted to be accommodated, and we gave them space, and they voted in favour of their conscience, he said.
Congress Calls it ‘Vote for Positive Politics’
Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala called it a “vote for positive politics.” “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. The BJP lost 7 votes, falling short of 64, and the Janata Dal won 14 votes instead of 18,” Surjewala said.
“This vote is a vote for positive politics. On one side is the negative politics of the BJP and the negative politics of the Janata Dal, which wanted to abolish the Congress’s 5 guarantees,” he added. “Today, their own MLAs expressed no confidence in the BJP and Janata Dal leadership, stating that 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… The BJP and the Janata Dal want to end these guarantees.”
It was the first test for Shivakumar as CM. The result marks a significant win in D.K. Shivakumar’s first electoral challenge as Chief Minister. Congress’s fifth candidate defeated the JD(S) nominee in a closely contested battle, with cross-voting from both JD(S) and BJP believed to have helped Congress clinch the seat. Clarity on the exact number of cross-votes and invalid votes is still awaited from election officials. (ANI)
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