Shivakumar’s ‘Chanakya’ Masterclass: Congress Sweeps MLC Polls, Unity Fractured In BJP, JD(S)
Shivakumar’s ‘Chanakya’ Masterclass: Congress Sweeps MLC Polls, Unity Fractured In BJP, JD(S) Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 19, 2026, 09:34 IST Instead of
Shivakumar’s ‘Chanakya’ Masterclass: Congress Sweeps MLC Polls, Unity Fractured In BJP, JD(S) Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: June 19, 2026, 09:34 IST Instead of the expected 140 votes, the five Congress candidates secured 151 votes. This suggests cross-voting from BJP and JD(S) MLAs. Rapid Read Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. DK Shivakumar, Karnataka’s Chief Minister and the Congress party’s troubleshooter and crisis manager, has officially endorsed his reputation as the “Chanakya of the Congress" for his tactical acumen. Known for outmanoeuvring political rivals and securing key electoral victories, in the latest MLC elections he not only engineered the win of all five Congress candidates but also ensured that the fifth candidate, Vinay Karthik, whose candidature was expected to secure only the minimum required votes, won with the largest margin among all five Congress nominees. This was the first major electoral test for Shivakumar in his new role, and the Congress secured five of the seven Legislative Council seats that went to polls on Thursday. Barely two weeks after being sworn in, he also successfully mounted a political strike against Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister HD Kumaraswamy by allegedly engineering an 11-member cross-voting in favour of the Congress in the Legislative Council elections. Congress Exceeds Expectation With Unexpected Cross-voting The JD(S) had fielded its candidate, Govind Raju, to keep its flock united and preserve its 18-member legislative strength. Based on Assembly numbers, the Congress should have secured around 140 votes with the support of three Independents and two expelled BJP members – Shivaram Hebbar and ST Somashekar. Instead of the expected 140 votes, the five Congress candidates secured 151 votes.
This suggests cross-voting from BJP and JD(S) MLAs. The JD(S) candidate, Govind Raju, secured just 14 votes, even though the BJP had allotted four of its votes to JD(S). The Congress had fielded a fifth candidate, Vinay Karthik, a close associate of Shivakumar, to ensure surplus votes did not get wasted. Party sources said that while the Congress would have comfortably won four seats, the fifth candidature was a strategic move to maximise vote utilisation. Of the seven seats, the Congress would have expected to win four, while the BJP, with its allocation, would have been positioned to win two. Senior Congress leader and former MP VS Ugrappa told News18 that the outcome also reflects voter sentiment ahead of the 2028 elections. “The cross-voting that we saw is a clear sign of disgruntlement and also that the choice of MLAs was in favour of the Congress. DK Shivakumar has engineered a win that even the BJP and JD(S) have been left stunned by," Ugrappa said. He added that the result was a signal for future electoral trends: “If the BJP has some common sense, this is an indication of the forthcoming elections. It is a feather in the cap of the new Chief Minister of Karnataka. It shows collective leadership in the Congress." He also questioned the discipline within the BJP: “Where is that discipline now that they so often boast of?" BJP, JD(S) Face Internal Strain After Cross-Voting Leader of Opposition R Ashoka acknowledged irregularities, saying the intended allocation was 30 votes each, but cross-voting appears to have altered the outcome. He said three MLAs had cross-voted and the party would investigate their identities.
The BriefWire