Karnataka Council polls: Cross-voting fears shadow Shivakumar's prestige test
Synopsis
Seven seats, eight candidates, and one razor-thin contest that could go either way. Karnataka's Legislative Council election on 18 June has become a direct clash between CM D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy — with resort lockdowns, mock voting drills, and expelled BJP legislators holding the balance of power.
Key Takeaways
Elections to seven Karnataka Legislative Council seats are scheduled for 18 June 2025 at the Vidhana Soudha , Bengaluru.
The contest for the seventh seat — between Congress's Vinay Karthik and NDA's K.
Govindaraju — is the decisive battleground.
Congress needs 140 first-preference votes to win all five seats; its current confirmed tally stands at 138 .
The BJP–JD-S alliance can muster at most 26 votes for Govindaraju, still two short of the 28 required.
Expelled BJP MLAs S.T.
Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar in the Congress camp could prove decisive.
Both Congress and JD-S have shifted MLAs to resorts — in Bidadi and Devanahalli respectively — to prevent cross-voting.
The election to seven Karnataka Legislative Council seats on 18 June 2025 has escalated into a high-stakes political contest, with the seventh and final seat emerging as a direct trial of strength between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar of the Indian National Congress and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who heads the Janata Dal (Secular) (JD-S) in Karnataka. What began as a routine numbers exercise has transformed into one of the most closely watched state-level electoral battles of the year.
The Seventh Seat: Where the Battle Is Decided
Of the eight candidates contesting seven seats, the outcomes for six are largely predictable — four Congress candidates and two BJP candidates are expected to win comfortably. The contest has narrowed sharply to the final seat, where Congress's fifth candidate Vinay Karthik faces the NDA-backed K. Govindaraju, fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)–JD-S alliance. The result hinges entirely on surplus votes and the spectre of cross-voting.
Resort Politics and Anti-Defection Drills
With cross-voting fears running high, both camps have deployed extraordinary containment measures. Congress shifted all its legislators to a resort in Bidadi, where training sessions and mock voting exercises are being conducted to ensure error-free ballot casting. Sources said CM Shivakumar expressed confidence in securing all five seats, while cautioning his MLAs against outreach attempts by JD-S.
The JD-S directed its legislators to report to the party office in Bengaluru before being moved to a resort in Devanahalli. The party has issued a whip and plans to escort its MLAs directly to the Vidhana Soudha on polling day. The BJP, meanwhile, convened a Legislature Party meeting at a private hotel in Bengaluru under Leader of the Opposition (Assembly) R. Ashoka, Leader of the Opposition (Council) Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, and BJP state president B.Y. Vijayendra.
The Arithmetic That Makes the Seventh Seat Critical
Under the proportional representation system, each candidate requires 28 first-preference votes. Congress needs 140 votes to secure all five seats. With 135 MLAs, plus support from two Independents and one Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha MLA, the tally reaches 138. The votes of expelled BJP legislators S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar — now aligned with the Congress camp — could push the count to the decisive 140.
On the NDA side, the BJP's 62 MLAs require 56 votes for its two candidates, leaving six surplus votes expected to transfer to Govindaraju. JD-S's 18 MLAs bring the alliance tally to 24. Additional support from legislators aligned with Janardhana Reddy and Basanagouda Patil Yatnal could raise this to 26 — still two short of the 28 required. This deficit is what makes the seventh seat the focal point of the entire election.
Candidates in the Fray
Congress has fielded B.K. Hariprasad, Tippannappa Kamaknoor, P.V. Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli, and Vinay Karthik. The BJP's candidates are Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya, while K. Govindaraju contests as the joint NDA candidate backed by the JD-S–BJP alliance. Voting is scheduled from 9 am to 5 pm at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru.
The presence of the expelled BJP duo in the Congress camp has added an unpredictable dimension, and all eyes will be on whether the arithmetic holds — or whether cross-voting rewrites the result.
Point of View
Now a ritual in Karnataka elections, reflects a structural trust deficit within party ranks that no whip can fully paper over. Notably, the presence of expelled BJP legislators in the Congress fold complicates the NDA's moral argument against cross-voting. If Congress secures all five seats, Shivakumar cements his grip on the party machinery ahead of what promises to be a turbulent run-up to the next assembly cycle. If it falls short, the cracks in his coalition become impossible to ignore.
NationPress
4 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Karnataka Legislative Council election on 18 June about?
It is an election to fill seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council, with eight candidates in the fray. The contest is significant because the seventh seat is too close to call, making it a direct prestige battle between Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy.
Why is the seventh seat the most critical in this election?
Under the proportional representation system, each candidate needs 28 first-preference votes . The BJP–JD-S alliance can realistically muster only about 26 votes for its candidate K. Govindaraju, while Congress needs the votes of two expelled BJP legislators to reach the required 140 for all five seats. The margin is wafer-thin on both sides.
Why have MLAs been moved to resorts ahead of the vote?
Both Congress and the JD-S have shifted their legislators to resorts — in Bidadi and Devanahalli respectively — to prevent cross-voting and outside contact. Congress is also conducting mock voting drills to ensure ballots are cast correctly under the preferential voting system.
Who are the key candidates in the Karnataka Council election?
Congress has fielded B.K. Hariprasad, Tippannappa Kamaknoor, P.V. Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli, and Vinay Karthik. The BJP's candidates are Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya, while K. Govindaraju is the joint NDA candidate backed by the BJP–JD-S alliance.
What role do expelled BJP legislators play in this election?
Expelled BJP MLAs S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar are reportedly aligned with the Congress camp. Their votes could push Congress's tally from 138 to the crucial 140 needed to win all five seats, making them potential kingmakers in the contest.
