‘Why should we ask for cross-voting?’ CM DK Shivakumar amid MLC polls

BENGALURU: Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Thursday responded to allegations of cross-voting during the Legislative Council elections, saying that the process involves a secret ballot and stressing that the Congress has no role in such claims, as the voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council under way.

Shivakumar said cross-voting concerns were unnecessary as the election is conducted through a confidential voting process. “Why should we ask for cross-voting? It is a confidential vote. Secret ballot vote. Why should one worry? Nobody should worry. It all depends on the leadership and their party ideology. We do not want to get involved in any of the cross-voting. We don’t know about it. Let’s wait till 6 o’clock and see,” he said.

#WATCH | On BJP’s allegations of cross-voting, Karnataka CM D.K. Shivakumar says, “Why should we ask for cross-voting? It is a confidential vote. Secret ballot vote. Why should one worry? Nobody should worry. It all depends on the leadership and their party ideology. We do not… https://t.co/RvdhEHVi2G pic.twitter.com/iAOoPw1oFl

— ANI (@ANI) June 18, 2026

Senior Congress leaders expressed confidence that the party would win all five seats it is contesting. Congress MLA and former minister Santosh Lad expressed confidence in the party’s prospects and said, “We are very confident, and according to me, all five candidates will win comfortably.”

Senior Congress leader Satish Jarkiholi also asserted that the party had the required numbers to secure victory. “All our five contestants will win, there is no doubt. We have the numbers necessary to win,” he said. Admitting the presence of factions within the party, Jarkiholi added, “Yes, there are groups in Congress, but they will still vote for the party.”

Congress MLA Dinesh Gundu Rao echoed similar confidence and said, “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.”

Voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council is under way at the Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru and will continue till 4 pm, with counting scheduled to begin later in the day. (ANI)