BJP wins 3 of 4 seats, Cong 1; Deve Gowda’s JD (S) draws a blank
BENGALURU: The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Karnataka won three seats and the Congress one in Rajya Sabha polls on Friday as the Janata Dal (Secular) drew a blank amid allegations of cross-voting against the party’s lawmakers.
Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Kannada actor Jaggesh and member of legislative council Lahar Singh Siroya – all from the BJP – were declared winners. They received 46, 44 and 33 votes, respectively.
The Congress fielded two candidates – Jairam Ramesh and Mansoor Ali Khan – but only the former won, receiving 46 votes. Khan received 25 votes. JD(S) member Kupendra Reddy received 30 votes and lost.
In the 224-member House, the BJP has 120 legislators, the Congress 71 and JD(S) 32. However, the BJP enjoys the support of one Bahujan Samaj Party (BJP) leader and an independent. The party also received at least one additional vote from a JD(S) legislator, said people aware of the matter
“We had expected that all three of our candidates will win comfortably. Our party’s strength that is Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, our national president JP Nadda’s guidance and the full cooperation of our state president Nalin Kumar Kateel and all our legislators and other workers together has borne fruit. I thank all of them,” Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai said.
Reacting to his win, Congress candidate Jairam Ramesh said, “Today my victory is the victory of team Congress. I want to congratulate my young colleague, Mansoor Ali Khan for his fighting spirit. He fought a brave battle and I am sure he will soon find success in the elections,” Ramesh added.
The BJP’S victory in the Rajya Sabha polls should earn a respite for CM Bommai, who was under pressure after a string of recent controversies and electoral reverses in the by-elections. The party lost the Hanagal seat, which is in the chief minister’s home district of Haveri. The victory in the polls, people close to Bommai said, is a much-needed morale booster for the chief minister ahead of assembly elections next year.
The BJP’S victory was cemented when the Congress and JD (S) failed to forge a partnership for the Rajya Sabha polls. The Congress wanted the JD(S) to back it for the fourth seat as it supported JD(S) chief HD Deve Gowda in the 2020 Rajya Sabha elections. The JD(S), on the other hand, wanted the Congress to give its second preference vote to Reddy. The results are a blow for the Congress, which is looking to return to power in assembly elections next year.
“This (Rajya Sabha) election will not make any difference. What comes in 2023 makes a difference,” Karnataka Congress unit president DK Shivakumar said.
“We are capable of stopping the BJP ourselves... BJP has become the most corrupt (party) of the country... People will throw out this government,” he added.
The polling exercise was marked by controversy.
Even before the results were announced, JD (S) chief HD Kumaraswamy said two of the party’s MLAS had voted for the Congress, and accused the Opposition of “subverting” democracy. He also accused the rebels and the Congress of cheating the JD(S).
JD (S) MLA K Srinivas Gowda told reporters he had voted for the Congress. “I voted for the Congress as I love it… my future politics is with Congress. I was earlier a minister from Congress,” he said.
And though the JD(S) earlier claimed that another MLA, SR Srinivas returned a blank ballot paper, they later said that the legislator from Gubbi voted for the BJP.
Gowda should resign from the party, Kumaraswamy said. “He won the elections on a JD(S) ticket and with the help of party workers in Kolar. This is an insult to the party and the workers...”