Date:02/06/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/06/02/stories/2006060219240500.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Janata Dal (S)'s whip fails to work

Special Correspondent

Cross-voting ensures defeat of fourth candidate of the party

Bangalore: The whip issued by the Janata Dal (Secular) today failed to work for the party in the Legislative Council elections resulting in its fourth candidate, K. Amarnath Shetty losing. Had the whip been adhered to, Mr. Shetty would have obtained 23 votes, beating the official candidates of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, who obtained a maximum of 20 votes.

Given its numbers in the Legislative Assembly, the JD(S), which was short of two votes even to ensure a smooth victory for a third candidate, believed that the whip would work and fielded a fourth candidate. There are indications that eight of its suspended MLAs, besides the expelled member, Vaijnath Patil, voted for the fourth Congress candidate, V.R. Sudarshan, who is the Chairman of the Council. There is, however, a sense of satisfaction in the two coalition partners that their strength in the Council has increased at the cost of the Congress. Nine Congress MLCs were among those who retired causing 11 vacancies, and the party has been able to get only four of its candidates elected.

The Congress, however, emerged the clear winner in this round. The differences in the BJP resulted in the party taking its MLAs to a resort on the outskirts of Bangalore on Wednesday to prevent them being lured by another party. Despite all the efforts, the BJP faced cross-voting, with at least three of its MLAs voting in favour of the JD(S), resulting in one of the BJP candidates, Vimala Gowda, winning by a narrow margin.

Overconfidence blamed

Sources in the JD(S) told The Hindu that it was overconfidence born out of wrong advice given by some persons that prompted the leadership to field a fourth candidate. However, JD(S) candidates obtained 22 additional votes indicating that there was cross-voting in favour of the party and that a majority of the independents had also voted in favour of the party candidates. Otherwise, with the nine rebels voting for the Congress, the JD(S) would have lost even the third seat.

Kumaraswamy happy

Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, reacting to results of the Legislative Council elections, has said that the victory registered by three Janata Dal (Secular) candidates had come as a morale-booster to the JD(S) and to him. The results would have no impact on the coalition Government in the State. He told The Hindu hereon Thursday that with 58 legislators, the party had netted 71 votes indicating that a number of other legislators had preferred to cast their votes in favour of the party.