Cross-voting by at least 11 legislators from the Bharatiya Janata Party and Janata Dal (Secular) helped the Congress secure an unexpected fifth seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly elections on Thursday, giving the ruling party a majority in the 75-member upper house and marking a success in Chief Minister DK Shivakumar’s first political test.
The Congress won five of the seven seats on offer, with the BJP bagging the remaining two. JD(S) candidate Govindraju, whose party relied on BJP support for the final seat, was defeated.
Based on the available figures, it appears that at least six BJP legislators and between four and eight legislators voted against their parties, although the exact breakdown may become clearer once the parties finish their internal assessment of the ballots. A BJP legislator’s ballot has been declared invalid.
Congress, which has 134 of the 224 members in the House of Representatives, had the strength to elect four candidates on its own, but needed the support of at least six additional lawmakers to secure the fifth seat.
The Congress also received support from independent legislators Latha Mallikarjun, KH Puttaswamy Gowda and Darshan Puttanaiah. Ousted BJP legislators ST Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar also supported Congress candidates.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the result reflects support among lawmakers for the party administration.
He said: “In the first round of the Legislative Council elections, all five Congress candidates won a landslide victory. Congress got 135 votes, but it got 151.”
Congress candidates BK Hariprasad, PV Mohan, BS Shivanna, Tippannappa Kamakanoor and Vinay Karthik Prakash were elected. According to the party, Hariprasad received 30 votes, Mohan 29, Shivana 30, Kamakanur 30 and Vinay Karthik 32, giving the party a total of 151 votes, indicating that it received another 11 votes from legislators outside its ranks, largely through cross-voting by the BJP and JD(S) MLAs.
BJP’s Raghu Kautilya won by 29 votes.
Lingaraj Patel received 27 votes and entered the assembly after the elimination round, although he did not get the winning share of 27.63 votes. One of the votes cast for Raghu Kautilya was invalid. Govindaraju received 14 votes.
According to leaders familiar with the matter, the BJP actually got 64 votes after accounting for support from ousted leader Basanagoda Patil Yatnal. Thirty votes were allocated to both Kautilya and Patil, leaving four surplus votes that were expected to be transferred to JD(S) candidate Govindraju. “Kautilya received 29 valid votes, while one vote cast in his favor was declared invalid, leaving his allotment virtually intact,” a senior leader said.
Patil, who was expected to get 30 votes, received only 27 votes, suggesting that at least three BJP legislators voted elsewhere. BJP leaders acknowledged three cases of cross-voting, although the final number could be higher depending on how the surplus votes are transferred.
The JD(S), with 18 MLAs, expects Govindraju to get at least 18 preferential votes before receiving BJP transfers. Instead, he received just 14 votes, indicating that at least four lawmakers voted against the party line. If all the BJP’s four surplus votes are transferred to Govindaraju as planned, the number of JD(S) cross votes could reach eight.
The result increased Congress’s strength in the legislature from 34 to 39 members, giving it control of the 75-member House of Representatives for the first time. The BJP now has 29 members, the JD(S) six, and there is one independent member.
Polling was held at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru between 9 am and 4 pm. All 222 eligible MLAs cast their votes, resulting in a 100% turnout. Counting began at 5 p.m.
The contest was closely watched as Shivakumar’s first electoral test after assuming office.
“Today, a very big mandate has been given. Many different political parties, across party lines, have voted for the government. They have agreed on the policies. I thank all the legislators who helped us, who voted for us. We stood united, and these are the results of the Congress party’s unity in the country,” the Prime Minister said.
Opposition leader R Ashoka admitted that BJP legislators had crossed the party line.
“Our candidates won and we congratulate them. We have three adverse votes. We will find out who did this, and the party will take appropriate action,” he said.
Among the winning Congress candidates, Tipanappa Kamakanur said: “I will work very well for the party. I work for the poor. I will try to bring the Congress to power in the state in 2028.”
Shivana Malavalli thanked the party leadership and MLAs for their support. “I am a student-oriented thinker. I always think about the students of the country. I will continue to work for their welfare and development.”
