Bengaluru: Congress secured a comfortable five-seat victory in the legislative council elections held on Thursday, while the BJP-JD(S) alliance was left grappling with allegations of cross-voting. The final tally revealed significant defections in opposition ranks, though identifying the culprits proved difficult.
Congress Candidate Tops Polls
Congress candidate Vinay Karthik emerged as the highest vote-getter with 32 votes, comfortably exceeding the required number and significantly more than what Congress could have secured on its own. The tally suggested that he may have polled at least a dozen votes from BJP and JD(S) legislators.
Accusations and Counter-Accusations
The figures triggered a blame game within the alliance. While BJP insisted only three legislators from its camp had cross-voted — apart from rebel MLAs already under suspicion — party functionaries alleged that at least eight JD(S) legislators had backed Congress candidates. JD(S) functionaries rejected the claim, arguing that only four votes could have come from their ranks, with the remaining support originating from BJP legislators.
Key Figures Under Scrutiny
GT Devegowda and MR Manjunath of JD(S), along with BJP’s Ramesh Jarkiholi, BP Harish, M Chandrappa, and HK Suresh, were immediately under the lens. However, all of them denied cross-voting. The secret ballot system complicated efforts to establish responsibility, leaving room for suspicion but little scope for proof.
Leadership Reactions
State BJP president BY Vijayendra struck a stern note, saying the party would identify the 'black sheep' and initiate appropriate action. JD(S) state president and Union minister HD Kumaraswamy refused to comment. Meanwhile, buoyed by what he described as his first electoral victory after oath as CM, DK Shivakumar sought to downplay the speculation. “I have no idea who cross-voted,” he said.
Impact on JD(S) and BJP
The results are a huge blow to JD(S), a party already facing an existential crisis. The defeat is likely to force brass to pay greater attention to second-rung leaders and internal dissent. For BJP too, the outcome is troubling. It could strengthen claims by dissidents that the party is suffering from a leadership drift, potentially mounting pressure to remove Vijayendra.
