In a major shake-up for the NDA in Karnataka, the Congress emerged victorious in the state Legislative Council elections on Thursday, winning five out of seven seats. However, this big win in Congress was all thanks to cross-voting by at least six BJP legislators and between four and eight legislators.
The development has angered the BJP high command, and the party’s national president Nitin Nabin has summoned Karnataka BJP president P Vijayendra to understand how cross-voting could happen, the news agency reported. PTI I mentioned.
Vijayendra also agreed to hold cross-voting by members of his own party, as well as the JD(S). “There is no room for tolerance for party members in our party who voted opposite. They will not be pardoned. We also have some information about who may have played this game,” the news agency quoted him as saying. that I.
The incident has opened cracks within the NDA leadership in Karnataka.
As HT reported earlier, at least 11 lawmakers from the alliance voted against, ending in a surprise victory for the Congress in the fifth seat, giving the ruling party a majority in the 75-member Senate.
Who won the elections?
The ruling Congress Party won five of the seven legislative council seats that went to the polls, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party won two seats. List of winners:
Congress:
- Tipanapa Kamknur
- BV Mohan
- PK Hariprasad
- Shivana PS
- Vinay Karthik Prakash
Bharatiya Janata Party:
- Lingaraj Patel
- Raghu R
JD(S) candidate Govindraju, whose party relied on BJP support for the final seat, was defeated. With 18 MLAs, Govindraju was expected to get at least 18 preference votes before receiving BJP transfers. Instead, he received just 14 votes, indicating that at least four lawmakers voted against the party line.
according to that IThe BJP had appointed three MLAs to vote for the JD(S) candidate, but even that did not happen as the number did not exceed 14.
NDA weakens its score in Karnataka
The MLC polls were conducted as per the mandate of seven MLC members – Congress leaders Naseer Ahmed, Tippanappa and PK Hariprasad. Bharatiya Janata Party (MTB) leaders N Nagaraju, Pratap Simha Nayak K, and Sunil Valiyapur; and JD(S) leader Govindaraju – are set to expire on their retirement on June 30.
With the MLC election results, the Congress’s strength in the legislature has increased from 34 to 39, and the BJP now has 29 members, the BJP has six members and there is one independent member.
Read also: Jharkhand Rajya Sabha poll results: NDA-backed candidate wins after cross vote, other seat goes to JMM
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.
This confirms that cross-voting occurred, but the exact figure for the number of lawmakers involved will not be clear until the parties complete their internal assessment of the ballots. “Yesterday, during voting, there were six to seven adverse votes from the JD (Democratic Party) side as well. From the BJP as well, at least four to five adverse votes occurred. We have also received this information,” Vijayendra said.
Vijayendra said he has sought time to meet BJP national president Nitin Nabin to explain what happened, and expects a meeting to be held by Monday. He also pledged to take strict action against anyone who “crosses the line.”
Meanwhile, the Congress is basking in the glory of its major victory, saying the cross-vote reflects a lack of leadership within the BJP and the JD(S) party. “It is a clear confirmation that the BJP and JD(S) have no leadership. There is no depth in leadership. It is an outright rejection of the leadership of Ashok, Vijendra and Kumaraswamy,” Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said.
Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala said the result reflects support among lawmakers for the party administration.
