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New Delhi: BJP chief whip Doddanagouda G. Patil on Tuesday said that Karnataka MLA ST Somashekar has cross-voted in the Rajya Sabha elections in favour of the Congress. Taking a swipe at the BJP, Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah said cross-voting isn’t possible in his party. “Let them keep their (BJP’s) MLAs intact. Cross-voting is only possible in the BJP, not in Congress,” he said.
As many as 214 MLAs in Karnataka exercised their franchise for the four Rajya Sabha seats on Tuesday till 1 pm, Election Commission officials said. The Congress has 133 MLAs, excluding the Speaker, while the BJP and JD(S) have 66 and 19 legislators respectively, in the 223-member House. Others account for four. However, one Congress MLA died on Sunday.
On Tuesday, voting began at 9 am and will go on till 4 pm. The counting will start from 5 pm. The MLAs will exercise their voting rights using an open ballot system. They have to display their voting preference to the nominated polling agents.
The Rajya Sabha seats fell vacant following the retirement of four members — Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar (BJP) and Congress’s G C Chandrashekhar, Syed Naseer Hussain and L Hanumanthaiah.
The ruling party has fielded G C Chandrashekhar, Naseer Hussain and former union minister Ajay Maken. The BJP has fielded Narayansa Bhandage, besides JD(S) candidate D Kupendra Reddy as the NDA candidate.
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