K’taka council polls: Cross-voting fears mark Shivakumar’s first test
Bengaluru: The election to seven Karnataka Legislative Council seats on Thursday (June 18) has turned into a high-stakes political battle, with the contest emerging as a matter of prestige for both the ruling Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) alliance.
What was initially expected to be a straightforward numbers game has evolved into a closely watched showdown between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel H.D. Kumaraswamy, also State JD-S President, who are determined to secure victory for their respective candidates.
Eight candidates are in the fray for seven seats. While four Congress candidates and two BJP candidates are expected to win comfortably, the contest for the seventh and final seat has become intensely competitive.
The battle is primarily between Congress’s fifth candidate, Vinay Karthik, and the NDA’s K. Govindaraju, backed by the JD (S)- BJP alliance. The outcome is expected to hinge on surplus votes and cross-voting.
With fears of cross-voting looming large, both camps have taken extraordinary measures to keep their legislators together. The Congress has shifted all its MLAs to a resort in Bidadi, where training sessions and mock voting exercises are being conducted to ensure that every vote is cast correctly.
Sources said CM Shivakumar expressed confidence that the party would secure all five seats, while cautioning MLAs against attempts by JD-S to contact them.
The JD-S has directed its MLAs to report to the party office in Bengaluru before being shifted to a resort in Devanahalli. The party has issued a whip and plans to escort legislators directly to the Vidhana Soudha on polling day.
The BJP has also tightened its ranks. A meeting of the BJP Legislature Party was held at a private hotel in Bengaluru under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, R. Ashoka, the Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and the BJP state president, B.Y. Vijayendra.
The presence of expelled BJP legislators S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar in the Congress camp has added a fresh dimension to the contest, raising speculation over possible cross-voting.
Under the proportional representation system, each candidate requires 28 first-preference votes. Congress needs 140 votes to secure all five seats.
With 135 MLAs, plus support from two Independents and one Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha MLA, the tally reaches 138. If Somashekar and Hebbar vote in its favour, Congress would reach the crucial 140 mark.
The BJP, with 62 MLAs, requires 56 votes to elect its two candidates, leaving six surplus votes. These are expected to be transferred to the NDA candidate, Govindaraju.
The JD-S has 18 MLAs, giving the alliance 24 votes with the BJP’s surplus. Support from legislators aligned with Janardhana Reddy and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal could raise the tally to 26, still short of the 28 required.
This arithmetic has made the seventh seat the focal point of the election.
Congress has fielded B.K. Hariprasad, Tippannappa Kamaknoor, P.V. Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli and Vinay Karthik.
The BJP candidates are Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya, while K. Govindaraju is contesting as the NDA candidate backed by the JD (S)- BJP alliance.
Voting will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
