Cross-voting by 11 MLAs, big Congress win: Karnataka MLC polls expose NDA cracks; BJP says 'no forgiveness'

IN a vainglorious jar the NDA in mysore, u.s. Congress came come out with flying colours in the state Legislative Council elections on Thursday, registering victory on five out of seven seats. However, this big Congress win was all thanks to cross-voting by at least six BJP lawmakers and between four and eight JD(S) lawmakers. The development left the BJP high command fuming, and the party's national president Nitin Nabin has summoned Karnataka BJP chief BY Vijayendra to understand how the cross-voting could happen, news agency PTI reported. Vijayendra has also accepted that cross-voting took place by members of his party, as well as the JD(S). “There is no question of forgiving the MLAs in our party who have cross-voted. They will not be forgiven. We also have some information on who might have played this game,” he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.The incident has thrown open the cracks within the NDA leadership in Karnataka. As reported by HT earlier, at least 11 legislators of the alliance cross-voted, which ended up in a surprise win for the Congress in the fifth seat, giving the ruling party a majority in the 75-member Upper House.Who won the elections?The ruling Congress won five of the seven Legislative Council seats that went to polls, while the opposition BJP bagged two. A list of winners:Congress:Thippannappa KamknoorPV MohanBK HariprasadShivanna BSVinay Karthik PrakashBJP:Lingaraj PatilRaghu RJD(S) candidate Govindraju, whose party had relied on the BJP support for the final seat, was defeated. With 18 MLAs, Govindraju was expected to secure at least 18 first preference votes before receiving BJP transfers. Instead, he polled only 14 votes, indicating that at least four JD(S) legislators voted against the party line. According to ANI, the BJP had assigned three of its MLAs to vote for the JD(S) candidate, but even that didn't happen because the figure didn't cross 14.NDA weakens tally in KarnatakaThe MLC polls were held as the terms of seven MLCs -- Congress leaders Naseer Ahmed, Tippannappa, and B K Hariprasad; BJP leaders N Nagaraju (MTB), Prathap Simha Nayak K, and Sunil Vallyapur; and JD(S) leader Govindaraju--are set to expire upon their retirement on June 30.With the MLC election results, the Congress’s strength in the legislative council rose from 34 to 39, and the BJP now has 29 members, the JD(S) six and there is one independent member.Also Read: Jharkhand Rajya Sabha poll results out: NDA-backed candidate wins after cross-voting, other seat goes to JMMThe Congress, which had 134 members in the 224-member House, had the strength to elect four candidates on its own but required support of at least six additional lawmakers to secure the fifth seat.This confirms that cross-voting took place, but the exact figure of how many lawmakers were involved would only be clear after the parties complete their internal assessment of the ballots. “Yesterday, during the voting, there were six to seven cross-votes from the JD(S) side as well. From BJP too, at least four to five cross-votes have happened. We have also received that information,” Vijayendra said. Vijayendra said that he has sought time to meet BJP National President Nitin Nabin to explain what happened, and is expecting a meeting by Monday. He has also vowed strong action against whoever “crossed the line”. Meanwhile, the Congress is basking in the glory of its big victory, saying the cross-voting reflects the lack of leadership within the BJP and the JD(S). “It's a clear validation that BJP and JD(S)have no leadership. There is no depth in leadership. It's an outright rejection of Ashok and Vijendra and Kumaraswamy's leadership,” Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge said. Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala also said the result reflected support among legislators for the party’s administration.