Closely watched elections for one seat out of seven in the Legislative Council

With 18 members and the support of six votes from the BJP, the JD(S) is expected to get support from Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, an expelled BJP member. | Photo credit: File photo

The upcoming elections to the seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council to be held on June 18 are being watched with curiosity. The Congress is comfortable winning four seats to the BJP’s two, but the interesting thing is the one-seat election for which neither they nor the JD(S) have the required number of votes.

The Congress nominated Vinay Karthik while the JD(S) nominated Govindaraju, forcing a contest. BM Farooq was also being considered by the JD(S), sources said. Candidates will elect MLAs and after the disqualification of Vinay Kulkarni and the resignation of former minister D. Sudhakar, the total number of votes available in the assembly will be 222.

According to the calculation, each candidate needs 28 votes to win and Congress has just enough numbers. While the Congress has 135 members, it is supported by two independents and one Raitha Sangha member. Two expelled BJP members – ST Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar – are expected to support the Congress, taking the tally to 140, enough to win five seats. “Since it is a preferential electoral system, on paper the Congress could comfortably win the seat,” government sources said.

The JD(S), with 18 members and the support of six votes from the BJP (votes remaining after ensuring the victory of its two candidates), is expected to get the support of Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, an expelled BJP member, taking the tally to 25. The decision of senior JD(S) member GT Deve Gowda, who has distanced himself from the party leadership, is not known.

“Will anyone say how the chess game will be played in politics? No one will talk,” Chief Minister DK Shivakumar told reporters when asked about the Congress’s strategy.

However, sources in the Congress party said that just to be sure of winning the seat in case of cross-voting, the party is likely to increase the votes for each candidate to a minimum of 29, in which scenario Mr. Karthik is likely to require some additional votes, raising fears of cross-voting.

“Since the voting is secret, it would not be known who might have cross-voted. Despite there being a whip, lawmakers could also be absent. Votes can also be deliberately invalidated. We have had these scenarios in some previous elections,” sources said.

Published – 08 June 2026 21:30 IST