BJP-JD(S) alliance wins four Karnataka Legislative Council seats

Bengaluru: In a setback to the Congress in Karnataka, the party lost all four seats contested in the Legislative Council elections, with the opposition JD(S) wresting one constituency from the ruling party and its ally BJP retaining three.

The JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency from the Congress, officials said.

Although the results are not expected to affect the stability of the Congress government, they are being viewed as a sign of consolidation between the BJP and JD(S), and as a morale boost for the opposition alliance.

The BJP won the North-East Teachers’, South-East Graduates’ and West Graduates’ constituencies, defeating Congress candidates.

While the results for the Bengaluru Teachers’ and North-East Teachers’ constituencies were declared on Tuesday, counting continued overnight in the other two constituencies, officials said on Wednesday.

All four seats went to polls on October 23, with ballot papers used as per established practice.

In the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency, JD(S) candidate A P Ranganath, backed by the BJP, defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna, who sought re-election, by a margin of 908 votes. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes against Puttanna’s 9,902, officials said.

In the North-East Teachers’ Constituency, sitting BJP MLC Shashil G Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur, officials said.

This was Namoshi’s fifth victory from the constituency, which covers Kalaburagi, the home turf of AICC president Mallikarjun Kharge, and neighbouring districts in the Kalyana Karnataka region, according to party sources.

Namoshi won by a margin of 3,297 votes, securing 15,596 votes against Mattur’s 12,299.

In the South-East Graduates’ Constituency, BJP candidate K M Suresh defeated Congress nominee Shashi Hulikunte Mutt by a margin of 23,098 votes.

In the West Graduates’ Constituency, sitting BJP MLC S V Sankanur defeated Congress candidate Mohan Limbikai by a margin of 9,323 votes, official sources said.

Sankanur secured 33,711 votes, while Limbikai received 24,388, they said.

The contest was seen as a test of coordination between the BJP and JD(S), which are alliance partners, as well as of the Congress’s support base among teachers and graduates.

The BJP retained the three seats it previously held, while the JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ Constituency from the Congress.

The Bengaluru contest was significant because Puttanna had switched from the JD(S) to the Congress ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections. Both Puttanna and Ranganath belong to the Vokkaliga community.

The election was also seen as a test of whether the two opposition alliance partners could transfer their support to each other’s candidates.

The Congress, which had sought to retain its lone seat and make gains in the other constituencies, failed to do so.

Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee working president B K Hariprasad, ministers and senior party leaders campaigned across the constituencies.

Although the results were not expected to affect the stability of the state government, the opposition alliance’s performance has provided it with political ammunition against the Congress government, which came to power in 2023.

The 75-member Legislative Council currently has 38 Congress members, 24 from the BJP, six from the JD(S), one Independent and Chairman Saleem Ahmed. Five seats earmarked for government nominations are vacant.

The Congress is expected to increase its strength when the vacancies are filled, limiting the impact of the election results on the overall balance of power in the House.