DK Shivakumar hails 'big mandate' for Congress in Karnataka MLC polls

Karnataka CM DK Shivakumar said Congress received a 'very big mandate' in the Legislative Council polls after winning 5 of 7 seats. He thanked legislators for cross-party support, noting the BJP and JD(S) also faced significant cross-voting.

Karnataka Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said the Congress received a "very big mandate" from legislators across party lines in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, after the party won five of the seven seats. "Today, the election was not expected. I thought that there would be no elections. But the JDS and BJP wanted to fight the elections," Shivakumar told reporters after the results.

The CM said on Thursday that the Congress high command had finalised candidates who have "been working in the party throughout the country."

"Today, a very big mandate has been given among the legislators. Many from different political parties, cutting across party lines, have voted in favour of the government. They have agreed on the policies," he said.

"I thank all the legislators who have helped us, who have voted for us... We stood unitedly, and these are the results of the unity of the Congress party in the country," Shivakumar added.

Vote Count Shows Cross-Voting from BJP, JD(S)

Congress, which has 135 MLAs, polled 151 votes in the election, with all five of its candidates declared elected in the first round. The BJP won two seats, while the JD(S) candidate lost.

The BJP has 64 MLAs, but its two candidates together secured only 56 votes, a shortfall of eight.

BJP candidate Lingaraj Patil received 27 votes against the 30 assigned to him, while Raghu K polled 29, one short of his quota.

JD(S) has 18 MLAs, but its candidate got only 14 votes.

As part of the NDA arrangement, the BJP had assigned three of its MLAs to vote for the JD(S) candidate, taking the JD(S) tally to 21. Yet the JD(S) ended up with just 14, seven votes short.

The results indicated cross-voting from both the BJP and JD(S) ranks.

Earlier, Shivakumar said they had no information about cross-voting. "Some of them might have cast a conscience vote, and allegations made by the BJP and JDS are a frustration", Shivakumar said.

Clarity on the exact number of cross-votes and invalid votes is still awaited from election officials.

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