The ruling BJP emerged victorious in 12 of the 25 seats but felling one seat short of gaining a simple majority in the Karnataka Legislative Council for which biennial elections were held on 10 December.
The Opposition Congress managed to clinch 11 seats, while the JD(S) has won Hassan seat and is leading in one of the seats in Mysuru. An Independent candidate has managed to win one of the two seats in the prestigious Belagavi constituency, the poll official said.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai heaved a sigh of relief, calling it “a good result”. However, the fact that the Congress giving it a run for its money and the weakening of the JD(S) is a warning sign for the BJP in the run-up to the 2023 assembly showdown. Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah said the result showed “a pro-Congress” wave.
Of the 25 local authorities’ seats, the BJP has increased its tally from six to 11. “We have gained five seats. Obviously, that’s a good result,” Bommai said. “We expected to win 13-14. We will discuss the misses internally,” he added.
The BJP’s tally would have been 12 if it was not for a photo-finish in the Mysore-Chamarajnagar seat where JD(S) managed to win in the vote count that went late into the evening.
A big upset for the BJP was the defeat of government chief whip Mahantesh Kavatagimath in the twin-seats of Belagavi. “We really need to look into what happened here,” Bommai said.
The plan to get Kavatagimath elected for one seat while using Independent candidate Lakhan Jarkiholi to defeat the Congress in the other seems to have backfired as it led to a split in the BJP’s votes. Lakhan Jarkiholi ended up winning alongside Congress’s Channaraj Hattiholi. What adds to the BJP’s embarassment is that Lakhan is the brother of BJP MLAs Ramesh and Balachandra Jarkiholi.