In the first electoral battle since the new government headed by Prime Minister DK Shivakumar took power in Karnataka, the ruling Congress Party on Thursday won five of the seven seats in the Legislative Council that went to the polls, while the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party won two seats.
The results also highlighted cross-voting by BJP and JD(M) legislators in favor of Congress candidates, with the ruling party bagging 151 votes, 11 more than the expected tally of 140 votes, the agency said, citing sources.
Eight candidates were vying for the seven MLA seats to be elected by the MLAs, which were polled on Thursday in the Karnataka Vidhana Soudha. The votes were then counted in the evening.
Polling was held for the terms 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.
According to sources cited by PTI, preliminary information indicates that three MLAs, eight MLAs and eight MLAs voted negatively in these elections, and one BJP MLA vote was declared invalid.
Karnataka MLC Polls: Complete list of winners
Congress:
- Tipanapa Kamknur
- BV Mohan
- PK Hariprasad
- Shivana PS
- Vinay Karthik Prakash
Bharatiya Janata Party:
- Lingaraj Patel
- Raghu R
Cross-vote surprise
Congress’ election victory is seen as a morale boost for new CM DK Shivakumar and new state president of the party BK Hariprasad. A senior party official told reporters that the party’s success in obtaining more votes than expected, especially from other parties, while keeping its tally unchanged amid fears of internal voting, reflects their leadership and organizational skills.
The cross-vote appears to have come as a “surprise” and is seen as a major setback amid factional feuds within the party and discontent with the state leadership, a BJP leader said. For the JD(S), this result reflects the weaknesses it may face in the future with the emergence of Shivakumar, a Vokkaliga strongman, as CM.
Opposition leader R Ashok admitted that his party’s legislators voted against the BJP.
“Our candidates won and we congratulate them. We have three adverse votes. We will know who won and the party will take appropriate action,” he said.
CM DK Shivakumar denied approaching legislators from rival parties.
“I don’t know who voted. They voted based on their conscience. I didn’t go to talk to anyone,” he said.
