Published Jun 18, 2026 | 7:03 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 18, 2026 | 7:05 PM
The election served as the first political test for the Karnataka Congress since DK Shivakumar took charge as Chief Minister.
Synopsis: The Congress won five of the seven seats in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections, while the BJP secured the remaining two seats, with cross-voting by some BJP and JD(S) legislators helping the ruling party’s performance. The result gives the Congress a majority in the 75-member Upper House.
The ruling Congress won five of the seven seats in the biennial elections to the Karnataka Legislative Council held on Thursday, aided by two cross-votes from BJP legislators and four from the JD(S). The BJP won the remaining two seats.
The result gives the Congress a majority in the 75-member Upper House, where it currently has 37 members. While the party was expected to comfortably secure four seats based on its strength in the Assembly, it succeeded in electing all five of its candidates.
The Congress had fielded Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president BK Hariprasad, Tippannappa Kamaknoor, PV Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli (BS Shivanna) and Vinay Karthik Prakash. The BJP had fielded Lingaraj Patil and Raghu Kautilya, while the JD(S) had fielded Govindraju.
The election was held to fill seven seats that are due to fall vacant on 30 June following the completion of the terms of Govinda Raju, Naseer Ahmed, N Nagaraju (MTB), Prathap Simha Nayak K, Tippannappa, Sunil Vallyapur and BK Hariprasad.
The election served as the first political test for the Karnataka Congress since DK Shivakumar took charge as Chief Minister.
He went all out to ensure votes were cast, including visiting ailing Deputy Chief Minister Dr G Parameshwar in hospital on Thursday morning to ensure he voted.
ವಿಧಾನ ಪರಿಷತ್ ಚುನಾವಣೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಗೆಲುವು ಸಾಧಿಸಿದ ಕಾಂಗ್ರೆಸ್ ಪಕ್ಷದ ಅಭ್ಯರ್ಥಿಗಳಾದ ಶ್ರೀ ಬಿ.ಕೆ. ಹರಿಪ್ರಸಾದ್, ಶ್ರೀ ತಿಪ್ಪಣ್ಣಪ್ಪ ಕಮಕನೂರ್, ಶ್ರೀ ಪಿ.ವಿ. ಮೋಹನ್, ಶ್ರೀ ಶಿವಣ್ಣ ಮಳವಳ್ಳಿ ಹಾಗೂ ಶ್ರೀ ವಿನಯ್ ಕಾರ್ತಿಕ್ ಅವರಿಗೆ ಹಾರ್ದಿಕ ಅಭಿನಂದನೆಗಳು.
ನಿಮ್ಮ ಜನಸೇವೆ ನಿರಂತರವಾಗಿರಲಿ, ನಾಡಿನ ಅಭಿವೃದ್ಧಿಗೆ ನಿಮ್ಮ ಕೊಡುಗೆ… pic.twitter.com/RNp2YGSMdB
— DK Shivakumar (@DKShivakumar) June 18, 2026
Polling, conducted by Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), concluded at 4 pm with a 100 percent turnout, as all 222 legislators cast their votes. Counting began at 5 pm.
Each candidate required a minimum of 28 votes to win. The Congress has 134 MLAs in the Assembly, while the BJP has 63 members. The JD(S), with 18 members, did not have the numbers to secure a seat on its own.
Apart from the cross-voting, the support of Independent legislators Latha Mallikarjun, KH Puttaswamy Gowda and Darshan Puttannaiah, along with two rebel and now-expelled BJP legislators, ST Somashekhar and Shivaram Hebbar, was crucial to the outcome of the seventh seat.
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