Karnataka MLC polls: BJP-JD(S) confident of victory, says Govindaraju

BJP-JD(S) MLC candidate Govindaraju expressed confidence that the alliance nominee would win the election, which sees eight candidates contesting. He also termed the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting an internal matter of the Congress party.

BJP-JD(S) MLC candidate Govindaraju on Tuesday said that eight candidates are contesting the election this time, expressing confidence that the alliance nominee would secure victory.

Speaking to ANI, Govindaraju said, "There are a total of eight candidates in the fray this time, with five from the Congress, two from the BJP, and one from the JD(S). All developments are moving in the right direction. We are confident that our candidate will emerge victorious."

Responding to a question on the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting and allegations of resort politics, he termed it an internal matter of the Congress party. "That is their party's internal strategy. They have convened a Congress Legislature Party meeting. We do not wish to comment on it," he said.

Govindaraju further informed that the JD(S) has convened a meeting of its legislators and MLCs on Wednesday to deliberate on the party's strategy for the election. "We will move forward according to the strategy formulated by our senior leaders. Necessary discussions regarding the election will be held in the meeting, and appropriate decisions will be taken," he added.

ECI Announces Election Schedule

Earlier, the Election Commission of India (ECI) announced elections to 27 seats in the Council of States (Rajya Sabha), including biennial polls and bye-elections, along with elections to State Legislative Councils by Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) in Bihar and Karnataka.

According to the ECI, biennial elections will be held for 24 Rajya Sabha seats from 10 states -- Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Rajasthan, Arunachal Pradesh, Karnataka and Mizoram. In addition, bye-elections to three Rajya Sabha seats will be conducted in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Odisha.

The Commission also announced biennial elections to nine seats in the Bihar Legislative Council and seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council. A bye-election to one seat in the Bihar Legislative Council will also be held.

The ECI said that notifications regarding the election programme have been issued and Returning Officers and Assistant Returning Officers for both biennial and bye-elections have been appointed. Details of these appointments have been published in the Gazette of India and the respective State Gazettes.

Key Election Dates

With the issuance of the notifications, the process for filing nominations for all the elections commenced at 11:00 AM on June 1 and will end on June 8, 2026, till 3:00 PM. The scrutiny of nomination papers will be undertaken by the respective Returning Officers on June 9, 2026, while the last date for withdrawal of candidatures has been fixed as June 11, 2026.

In the event of contested elections, polling will be held on June 18, 2026, from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM. Counting of votes for all the elections will take place on the same day from 5:00 PM onwards, the Commission said. (ANI)

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