BENGALURU: Elections to four Karnataka Legislative Council constituencies were held on October 23 using the ballot-paper system. The BJP and Janata Dal (Secular) alliance registered a sweeping victory across all four seats, leaving the ruling Congress without a single win.
In Bengaluru, JD(S) candidate A.B. Ranganath defeated sitting Congress MLC Puttanna by a margin of 908 votes, according to the results.
In the North-East Teachers’ constituency, BJP MLC Shashil G. Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mathur. Shashil secured his fifth consecutive win from the constituency. Congress also suffered a defeat in Kalaburagi, the home district of Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge, while the BJP retained one of the seats.
The setback is seen as a major blow for the Congress government in the state. Chief Minister Shivakumar said the party would accept the people’s verdict. Meanwhile, JD(S) leader Nikhil Kumaraswamy questioned whether Congress could still allege vote theft despite the election being conducted through ballot papers.
