‘There are groups in Congress, but they will vote for party’: PWD minister Satish Jarkiholi on MLC polls

BENGALURU: Public Works Minister Satish Jarkiholi acknowledged the existence of groups within the Congress party in the state but asserted that all legislators would vote for Congress candidates and expressed confidence of winning all five seats contested by the party, as voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council commenced on Thursday.

Speaking to reporters after arriving at the Vidhana Soudha to cast his vote, Jarkiholi said, “All five contestants will win, there is no doubt. We have the numbers necessary to win”. Admitting the presence of factions within the Congress in Karnataka, he said, “Yes, there are groups in Congress, but they will still vote for the party.”

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On MLC elections, Congress MLA Satish Jarkiholi says, “There is no doubt that all our five candidates will win…There are groups in our party, but all our voting for Congress.”

On the RSS registration row, he says, “What is wrong in asking for their… pic.twitter.com/zdxYDhpXKQ

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2026

Congress MLA and former minister Santosh Lad expressed confidence that all five candidates fielded by the party would secure victory comfortably. He said, “We are very confident, and according to me, all five candidates will win comfortably.”

Congress MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao also expressed confidence that the party would win all five seats, asserting that the Congress has sufficient numbers in the Assembly. Gundu Rao said, “We will win all five seats with our own votes. We took our MLAs yesterday, where mock voting was also held. We have enough numbers.”

#WATCH | Bengaluru | On Karnataka Legislative Council (MLC) elections, Congress MLA Dinesh Gundurao says, “We will win all 5 seats with our own votes. We took our MLAs yesterday, where mock voting was also held. We have enough numbers.”

On Giriraj Singh’s statement on Rahul… pic.twitter.com/PoA9iXCRbi

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2026

Congress MLA KN Rajanna claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) decision to reallocate votes in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections indicated that the Janata Dal (Secular) candidate was headed for defeat. Rajanna said, “Due to the confirmation of defeat of the JD(S) candidate, the BJP has re-allocated the number of votes. It shows that the JD(S) candidate will lose.”

Voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council began at 9 AM at Vidhana Soudha and will continue till 4 PM. Two polling booths have been set up inside the state secretariat to facilitate secret voting by MLAS.

The polls were necessitated by the upcoming retirement of seven MLCS whose terms conclude on June 30. The outgoing members include Congress’s Govindaraju, Naseer Ahmed, Thippannappa, and B K Hariprasad, as well as BJP’s M T B Nagaraju, Prathap Simha Nayak, and Sunil Vallyapur.

In the 75-member Upper House, Congress currently has 37 seats, while the BJP has 29, while JD(S) has seven seats, followed by one Independent member, and the Chairman. Through these elections, the Congress aims to further bolster its tally in the Council. (ANI)