Bengaluru:
The ruling Congress has managed to outwit the BJP-JDS combine and secure an additional seat in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections from the Legislative Assembly, registering a significant political victory.
The election was seen as a test of numbers and floor management. In the 224-member Karnataka Assembly, the Congress has 136 MLAs, BJP 66, JDS 19, while others account for the remaining members.
With seven Legislative Council seats up for grabs, the winning quota worked out to 29 first preference votes per candidate. Based purely on numbers, the Congress had enough strength to comfortably elect four candidates and mount a challenge for a fifth seat. The BJP had the numbers to comfortably elect two candidates, while the JDS was dependent on support from the BJP to remain in contention.
However, the Congress appears to have successfully executed its strategy, winning five of the seven seats and effectively preventing the BJP-JDS combine from securing an additional berth.
The result has triggered speculation of cross-voting from both BJP and JDS legislators, which is believed to have helped the Congress secure the crucial fifth seat.
According to the first preference vote count, Congress candidates BK Hariprasad (30), PV Mohan (29), BS Shivanna (30), Tippannappa Kamakanur (30), and Vinay Karthik (32) crossed the required quota.
BJP candidates Raghu Kautilya and Lingaraj Patil secured 29 and 27 votes respectively, while JDS candidate Govindaraju received 14 votes, leaving him out of the legislative council.
The BJP and JDS are expected to take action against their MLAs whom they suspect to have cross-voted.
The outcome is being viewed as a major political and organisational victory for the Congress leadership.
Despite the BJP and JDS together commanding 85 votes in the Assembly, the opposition combine failed to translate its collective strength into an additional Council seat, with apparent cross-voting and strategic vote management ultimately tilting the contest in favour of the ruling party.
