Daijiworld Media Network – Bengaluru
Bengaluru, Jun 18: The ruling Congress emerged victorious in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, clinching five of the seven available seats, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured the remaining two. The counting of votes, which concluded on Thursday, June 18, delivered a significant setback to the BJP-JD(S) alliance, with the sole JD(S) candidate facing a defeat amid evident cross-voting.
The successful Congress candidates are B K Hariprasad, Thippannappa Kamakanur, P V Mohan, Shivanna B S (Malavalli), and Vinay Karthik Prakash. For the BJP, Lingaraj Patil and Raghu R emerged victorious.
List of winning candidates
JD(S) suffers setback amid cross-voting
The election for the crucial seventh seat witnessed high political drama as the Congress successfully outmaneuvered the opposition alliance. JD(S) candidate Govindaraju suffered a heavy defeat, receiving only 14 first-preference votes despite the party having 18 MLAs in the Legislative Assembly. This clearly indicated that at least four JD(S) legislators cross-voted in favour of the Congress. Furthermore, the BJP's two surplus votes did not transfer to the JD(S) candidate as anticipated by the alliance.
Under the proportional representation system, a minimum of 28 votes was required for a candidate to win. The Congress, leveraging its strength of 134 MLAs along with the support of independents and unattached members, comfortably secured its first four seats. Relying on its 22 surplus votes and additional backing from cross-voting MLAs, the ruling party successfully pushed its fifth candidate across the finish line.
The JD(S), banking heavily on a "vote of conscience" and the BJP's surplus votes, fell drastically short of the required numbers to secure even a single seat.
Congress strengthens upper house majority
With this sweeping victory, the Congress has consolidated its power in the 75-member Legislative Council. The party's tally has now increased to 39, giving it a clear majority. The BJP currently holds 29 seats, the JD(S) is reduced to six, and there is one independent member.
The election, held from 9 am to 4 pm at the Vidhana Soudha, recorded a 100 per cent voter turnout, with all 222 eligible electors participating.
The polls were necessitated by the impending retirement of seven sitting MLCs on June 30. The retiring members include Govindaraju, Naseer Ahmed, Thippannappa, and B K Hariprasad from the Congress; M T B Nagaraju, Prathap Simha Nayak, and Sunil Vallyapur from the BJP. Prior to these elections, the seven seats were held by the Congress (4), BJP (2), and JD(S) (1). The latest outcome is being viewed as a significant strategic triumph for the ruling state government.