Bengaluru: Elections to seven vacant Legislative Council (MLC) seats in Karnataka are scheduled for June 18, with parties bracing for a tight contest in the secret-ballot vote.
A candidate needs the votes of 28 MLAs to win. Based on current numbers, the ruling Congress is expected to secure four seats, while the BJP is seen as comfortably placed for two.
However, the race has intensified as Congress has also fielded a fifth candidate, banking on support from dissatisfied opposition MLAs and a few independents. The Janata Dal (Secular), which has 19 MLAs, has also entered the fray with one candidate, hoping to gain additional votes from its ally, the BJP.
With cross-voting a concern for all three parties, Congress has decided to keep its legislators together. The party has booked 150 rooms at the luxury “Wonderla” hotel in Bidadi, and a meeting of Congress MLAs is scheduled there at 6 pm today after reports that JD(S) leaders had contacted 14 Congress MLAs.
