Karnataka Council polls end with all 222 MLAs voting, focus on final seat
Voting for seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council concluded after all 222 MLAs cast their ballots, poll officials said. Members of the Karnataka Legislative
Voting for seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council concluded after all 222 MLAs cast their ballots, poll officials said. Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly voted at Vidhana Soudha, with counting scheduled to begin at 5 pm, according to the returning officer. The election is largely seen as straightforward for most seats, with the Congress expected to win four and the BJP two based on their strength in the Assembly. The main contest is for the seventh seat, with both the Congress and the JD(S) fielding candidates despite not having enough numbers to win on their own. Read Full Story The candidates in the fray are Congress nominees Thippannappa Kamknoor, PV Mohan, BK Hariprasad, Shivanna BS and Vinay Karthik Prakash; BJP candidates Lingaraj Patil and Raghu R; and JD(S) leader Govindaraju. The polls were held because the terms of seven MLCs are ending with their retirement on June 30.
They are Congress leaders Naseer Ahmed, Tippannappa and BK Hariprasad; BJP leaders N Nagaraju (MTB), Prathap Simha Nayak K and Sunil Vallyapur; and JD(S) leader Govindaraju. Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former chief minister Siddaramaiah, Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka were among the prominent leaders who voted. Each candidate needs at least 28 votes to win. While the Congress and the BJP are expected to secure four and two seats respectively, the seventh seat has led to intense efforts by both camps. The ruling Congress, led by Shivakumar, is aiming to win five of the seven seats with support from Independents and unattached MLAs who were expelled from the BJP. The JD(S), backed by its alliance partner BJP, is trying to win one seat and has appealed to other MLAs, including those from the Congress, to cast a "vote of conscience" in its favour.
Amid fears of cross-voting, both the Congress and the JD(S) kept their legislators at separate resorts on the outskirts of the city. Two of the three unattached members expelled from the BJP, ST Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar, said they voted according to their "conscience". They told reporters that neither the BJP nor the JD(S) had approached them for votes, while Shivakumar had sought their support for the Congress candidate. They also said they had raised issues related to their constituencies with the chief minister and that he had responded positively. Somashekar and Hebbar were seen on Wednesday at the resort where Congress legislators were staying. On Thursday, they were again seen with Congress MLAs and also met Shivakumar. Another MLA expelled from the BJP, Basangouda Patil Yatnal, said he voted as per the BJP's directions because he had won the Assembly election on the party's symbol.
The BriefWire