Karnataka MLC polls: Congress sweeps all 5 seats, BJP wins 2, JD-S blanked
Synopsis
Congress didn't just win Karnataka's MLC polls — it exposed the NDA's internal fault lines. With 151 votes against a projected 138, cross-voting from three BJP MLAs and six JD-S legislators handed Congress a clean sweep, left JD-S winless, and publicly undercut Kumaraswamy's prestige play against CM Shivakumar.
Key Takeaways
Congress won all 5 Karnataka Legislative Council seats it contested; results declared on 18 June .
BJP secured 2 seats; NDA partner JD-S failed to win any seat.
Congress received 151 votes against a projected 138 , with reportedly 3 BJP MLAs and 6 JD-S MLAs cross-voting in its favour.
BJP polled only 56 first-preference votes despite having 64 legislators; JD-S mustered just 14 votes from 18 members .
BJP's Leader of Opposition R.
Ashoka confirmed cross-voting and said the party will take 'appropriate action' against errant MLAs.
The result is a major boost for CM D.K.
Shivakumar and a setback for Union Minister H.D.
Kumaraswamy , who had personally staked his prestige on the contest.
Congress swept all five seats it contested in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, results announced on Thursday, 18 June confirmed, while the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured two seats and its National Democratic Alliance (NDA) partner Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) failed to win a single seat. The outcome is widely seen as a significant political boost for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and a double setback for both the BJP and JD-S, particularly for Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who had personally staked his prestige on the contest.
Congress Vote Tally Exceeds Expectations
Congress had projected support from 138 legislators — comprising 135 Congress MLAs, one SKP member, and two Independents. However, the party's candidates ultimately received backing from 151 legislators, securing 13 more votes than anticipated. According to Congress General Secretary and Karnataka in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala, the surplus votes came from cross-voting within the rival camps — reportedly three BJP MLAs and six JD-S MLAs voted in favour of Congress candidates.
Surjewala addressed a press conference after the results and declared: 'Today is a great day in the history of Karnataka. It is not only a victory for the five Congress candidates but also a victory for the people of Karnataka. A new chapter has been written in the state's political history.'
Winning Candidates and Vote Counts
All five Congress winners — B.K. Hariprasad (state Congress President), Tippannappa Kamakanur, P.V. Mohan (AICC Secretary), B.S. Shivanna, and Vinay Karthik (party treasurer) — were declared victorious in the first round of counting itself. Hariprasad, Kamakanur, Mohan, and Shivanna each polled 30 votes, while Karthik led the pack with 32 votes. Notably, Karthik was a late entrant — proposed by Chief Minister Shivakumar after the initial four candidates were announced — and is considered a close associate and distant relative of the CM.
On the BJP side, Raghu Kautilya secured 29 votes and Lingaraj Patil received 27 votes. JD-S candidate Govindaraju polled only 14 votes against the required winning quota of 27.63 votes. Patil initially fell short of the threshold but crossed the winning mark in the elimination round through the transfer of votes after Govindaraju was eliminated. Of the 222 votes cast, one was declared invalid due to incorrect preference marking.
BJP Acknowledges Cross-Voting, Vows Action
Senior BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka congratulated the party's winning candidates but acknowledged the breach. 'BJP candidates Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya have emerged victorious in the Council elections, and we congratulate them. Through the voting pattern, we have come to know that three of our votes have crossed over,' he said. Ashoka added that the party would identify the errant legislators and take 'appropriate action.'
The BJP had the support of 64 legislators, including two Independents, but its candidates received only 56 first-preference votes, with one BJP ballot declared invalid. The JD-S, with 18 members, could muster only 14 votes for its candidate. This comes amid persistent questions about the JD-S's cohesion within the NDA after its alliance with the BJP ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Political Significance for Karnataka
The result is the latest indicator of Congress's organisational grip on Karnataka since its landslide assembly win in May 2023. Chief Minister Shivakumar, who managed the election logistics, emerges strengthened — both against internal party rivals and against the BJP-JD-S combine. For Kumaraswamy, who had publicly framed the contest as a personal challenge to Shivakumar, the outcome represents a visible political defeat on home turf. The scale of cross-voting also raises internal discipline questions for both NDA partners ahead of future electoral contests in the state.
Winning Congress candidate Kamakanur expressed gratitude to the party leadership and specifically acknowledged the support of Home Minister Priyank Kharge and Large and Medium Industries Minister M.B. Patil, along with other leaders from the North Karnataka region. The Congress is expected to consolidate its position in the Legislative Council following this result.
Point of View
Not the Congress sweep itself. It suggests that the BJP-JD-S alliance, stitched together for the 2024 Lok Sabha cycle, has not translated into grassroots legislative loyalty. For Kumaraswamy, who framed this as a personal contest against Shivakumar, the defeat is compounded by the fact that his own party's MLAs appear to have voted against the alliance line. The BJP's internal discipline problem — acknowledged openly by R. Ashoka — will be harder to paper over as Karnataka heads toward future local body elections.
NationPress
5 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What were the Karnataka Legislative Council election results on 18 June?
Congress won all five seats it contested, BJP secured two seats, and JD-S failed to win any. The results were announced on Thursday, 18 June, with Congress candidates declared victorious in the first round of counting itself.
Why did Congress win more votes than expected in the Karnataka MLC polls?
Congress projected support from 138 legislators but received votes from 151, reportedly because three BJP MLAs and six JD-S MLAs cross-voted in favour of Congress candidates. This gave Congress a surplus of 13 votes beyond its own legislative strength.
Who are the five winning Congress candidates in the Karnataka MLC election?
The five winning Congress candidates are B.K. Hariprasad (state Congress President), Tippannappa Kamakanur, P.V. Mohan (AICC Secretary), B.S. Shivanna, and Vinay Karthik (party treasurer). Karthik led the vote count with 32 votes.
How did BJP respond to the cross-voting in the Karnataka MLC polls?
BJP's Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka confirmed that three BJP votes had crossed over and said the party would identify those legislators and take appropriate action. The BJP had 64 legislators but its candidates received only 56 first-preference votes, with one ballot declared invalid.
What is the political significance of the Karnataka MLC results for CM Shivakumar?
The result is a major boost for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, who managed the election and proposed the fifth Congress candidate Vinay Karthik. It is simultaneously a setback for Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy of JD-S, who had publicly framed the contest as a personal challenge to Shivakumar.
