Bengaluru: All five Congress candidates in the fray for the Karnataka Legislative Council emerged victorious, the BJP secured two seats, but its NDA partner, the JD-S, lost as per the much-awaited results announced on Thursday.
The development is seen as a boost for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and a setback for the BJP and JD-S. It is also a setback for JD-S leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who took the election as a matter of prestige and challenged CM Shivakumar.
The Congress managed to secure 11 additional votes, including support from three BJP MLAs and six JD-S MLAs who reportedly cross-voted in favour of the Congress candidates.
Addressing a press conference, Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “Today is a great day in the history of Karnataka. It is not only a victory for the five Congress candidates but also a victory for the people of Karnataka. A new chapter has been written in the state’s political history.”
He said that state Congress unit President B.K. Hariprasad, senior leader B.S. Shivanna, senior leader Tippannappa Kamakanur, AICC Secretary P.V. Mohan, and Congress treasurer Vinay Karthik had all emerged victorious in the first round of counting itself.
“According to our calculations, Congress had the support of 138 legislators — 135 Congress MLAs, one SKP member, and two Independents. However, our candidates ultimately received the support of 151 legislators, giving us more votes than expected.”
“On the contrary, the BJP, which had the support of 64 legislators, including two Independents, secured only 56 first-preference votes, while one BJP vote was declared invalid. The JD-S, which has 18 members, secured only 14 votes,” he added.
“I thank the people of Karnataka, Congress workers, Congress MLAs, and others who chose to support the Congress candidates,” Surjewala said.
Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka said: “BJP candidates Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya have emerged victorious in the Council elections, and we congratulate them. Through the voting pattern, we have come to know that three of our votes have crossed over.”
“We will identify those who voted for the opposition, and the party will take an appropriate decision. While the victory has brought us happiness, we will also rectify our mistakes,” he added.
Among the winning candidates, Hariprasad secured 30 votes, Kamakanur 30 votes, Mohan 30 votes, Shivanna 30 votes, and Karthik 32 votes. BJP’s Raghu Kautilya secured 29 votes, while Lingaraj Patil received 27 votes. JD-S candidate Govindaraju polled 14 votes.
Victorious Congress candidate Kamakanur expressed gratitude to the party leadership, Chief Minister Shivakumar, and other party leaders. He said that he would not have received the opportunity to contest if not for Home Minister Priyank Kharge. He also acknowledged the support extended by Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil and other leaders from the North Karnataka region.
Karthik, the fifth Congress candidate, secured 32 votes, more than any of the four candidates initially announced by the party. After the announcement of the first four candidates, Shivakumar had proposed the candidature of Karthik, considered a close associate and distant relative.
Out of the additional votes, apart from expelled BJP legislators Shivaram Hebbar and S.T. Somashekhar, three more BJP MLAs and six JD-S MLAs are believed to have voted for the Congress candidates.
As a result, BJP candidate Lingaraj Patil did not initially reach the required winning quota. Each candidate needed 27.63 votes to secure victory, but Patil received only 27 votes in the first count.
However, since JD-S candidate Govindaraju secured only 14 votes, Patil eventually crossed the winning mark in the elimination round through the transfer of votes.
Of the 222 votes cast in the election, one vote was declared invalid. The ballot was rejected because the voter had failed to mark the preference number correctly.
(IANS)
