K’taka council polls: Expelled BJP MLAs confirm voting for Cong

Bengaluru, July 18 (IANS) Polling for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council continued on Thursday amid concerns over possible cross-voting, with expelled BJP MLAs S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar confirming that they had voted for Congress candidates and alleging that BJP leaders had not even extended a courtesy call seeking their support.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, S.T. Somashekar said he voted for the Congress in the interest of his constituency’s development.

“I voted for the Congress with a view to ensuring the development of my constituency. I had not initially decided which party’s candidate to support. What matters is who approaches you. Neither the BJP nor the JD(S) sought my support. Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar called me yesterday and invited me to the resort meeting, which I attended. I requested funds and developmental assistance for my constituency, and he assured me of support,” Somashekar said.

“I have cast my vote according to my conscience in favour of the Congress. I have no other demands,” he added.

Responding to questions about cross-voting, Somashekar said the BJP had earlier come to power with the support of leaders like him who had joined the party.

“The BJP came to power because we joined it. Otherwise, it would not have formed the government. They enjoyed power because of us, and we too were part of that government. I have confidence in D.K. Shivakumar’s assurance that development will be carried out in a phased manner,” he said.

He expressed confidence that all five Congress candidates would emerge victorious.

Another expelled BJP MLA, Shivaram Hebbar, said development of his constituency was his primary concern.

“Our intention is the development of our constituency. We discussed our concerns with Congress leaders and received a positive response. I have voted according to my conscience. It is alright that the BJP expelled us, but we expected the party to at least ask for our support during this election. We waited until last night, but not even a courtesy call came from BJP leaders,” Hebbar said.

He alleged that the BJP’s primary objective in the election was to ensure the defeat of the JD(S) candidate.

“That is probably why the BJP did not contact us. Both the current Chief Minister and former Chief Ministers from the Congress reached out to us and sought our support. We responded positively and voted accordingly,” he added.

Meanwhile, Minister for Large and Medium Industries, M.B. Patil, dismissed concerns over cross-voting within the Congress.

“There is absolutely no fear in the Congress camp regarding cross-voting. We are united and have discussed all issues at the Congress Legislature Party meeting. If there is any possibility of cross-voting, it is on the BJP or JD(S) side. Wait and watch; we will emerge victorious,” Patil said.

Deputy Leader of the Opposition and BJP MLA, Arvind Bellad, said the party was confident of victory.

“We have full confidence that all our candidates will emerge victorious. The votes of the two expelled MLAs, S.T. Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar, may go to the Congress, but apart from that, all BJP legislators will vote for our candidates,” Bellad said.

He expressed confidence that BJP candidates Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya would win comfortably.

Asked about the prospects of JD(S) candidate K. Govindaraju, who is contesting as the NDA nominee, Bellad said efforts were being made to secure his victory despite a shortage of votes.

“There is a deficit of votes, but we are receiving a good response and are making every effort to ensure his victory,” he said.

Senior Congress MLA Konareddy also expressed confidence about the party’s prospects.

“By this evening, all five Congress candidates will emerge victorious. Around 28 to 29 votes have been allocated to each candidate. All Congress MLAs are prepared to cast their votes in a systematic manner. There is complete unity among our legislators. Candidates from other parties are also expected to support us,” he said.

BJP MLA S.R. Vishwanath predicted victory for all three NDA candidates.

“All three NDA candidates will win. There will be no cross-voting by BJP MLAs. If there is any dissatisfaction, it is within the Congress. There are issues relating to cabinet allocations and internal groupism. From that perspective, Congress may face difficulties,” he said.

Vishwanath said the NDA faced a shortage of three votes for its third candidate, while Congress required five additional votes to ensure the victory of its fifth candidate.

“There is no question of even a single BJP MLA cross-voting,” he asserted.

Congress MLA and Congress Legislature Party Secretary Allamaprabhu Patil said legislators would vote according to the strategy worked out by the party high command.

“We will act according to the planning of the high command and cast our votes accordingly,” he said.

Former minister N. Cheluvarayaswamy rejected allegations of horse-trading and maintained that Congress had sufficient numbers to secure all five seats.

“If anyone is attempting horse-trading, it is the other parties. We have around 140 votes, which are sufficient to ensure the victory of all five candidates. We also have an adequate number of second preferential votes. There is no issue and there will be no cross-voting,” he said.

–IANS

mka/rad