Conscience seems to be the buzzword during the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka with three party legislators claiming they voted based on that moral sense. It is with this very feeling that Bharatiya Janata Party MLA ST Somashekar cross-voted in favour of senior Congress leader Ajay Maken on Tuesday.
Another BJP MLA, Shivaram Hebbar, abstained from voting in violation of the party whip.
The final tally of the contest in Karnataka where five candidates were in the fray was Congress’s Maken getting 47 votes, Syed Naseer Hussain bagging 47 votes with mining baron and Gangawati MLA Gali Janardhana Reddy also voting in his favour, and GC Chandrashekhar getting 45 votes. BJP’s Narayana Krishnasa Bhandage got 48 votes in his favour while Janata Dal (Secular) candidate Kupendra Reddy received 37 votes.
“I don’t know anything about cross-voting. I have not seen how the others have voted. You must ask the BJP. It is they who spoke about conscience votes,” Somashekar said when asked about his vote.
Taking a jibe at the BJP, Karnataka deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar said that the saffron party and JD(S) that were talking about being conscience vote seekers “have become conscience vote givers”.
“The BJP could have transferred votes in excess of 45 to the JD(S) candidate but it has shortchanged the JD(S) by retaining 48 votes for its candidate,” Shivakumar told the media.
BJP MLA from Bengaluru’s Yeshvanthapura constituency Somashekar, who considers Shivakumar his political guru, has been waiting in the wings to join the Congress since July last year. He was among those who jumped ship from the Congress during the alleged Operation Kamala (lotus) conducted in 2019 by the BJP. 17 Congress and JD(S) legislators switched to the BJP, toppling the coalition government of the two parties.
Somashekar has been upset with the BJP, has made several rebellious statements against the party, and has abstained from attending party meetings since July 2023. The BJP termed his decision to cross-vote “political suicide”.
Somashekar met chief minister Siddaramaiah in August 2023 at his residence, which caused a buzz of Operation Hasta (hand) of the Congress coming into play.
The MLA dismissed rumours of his shifting to the Congress saying the meeting was to discuss the “development of his constituency”, which included a maternity hospital at Sir M Vishweshwaraiah Layout on a civic amenity plot and a flyover for Kengeri Satellite Town.
In October last year, Somashekar expressed his displeasure over the BJP forming an alliance with the Janata Dal (Secular). He also hinted at quitting the BJP in protest.
“I have been competing with the JD(S) for 20 years…I was also witness to how the Congress-JD(S) government functioned. Many of our workers were unable to work along with the JD(S) workers. My supporters have been harassed by the JD(S) and I have been a close witness to mental harassment as well,” Somshekhar had said to News18 when he was asked about quitting the BJP in October.
Shivakumar when quizzed regarding Somashekar’s move said that he cast his vote as per his conscience. “It’s a vote against the unholy BJP-JD(S) alliance. The general public, graduates, and teachers have rejected the alliance,” the deputy CM said.
In Karnataka’s, 223-member assembly, the Congress has 134 MLAs, with the passing away of Raja Venkatappa Naik two days ago, while the BJP has 66, and JD(S) 19. Three independent members voted for the Congress.
HD Kumaraswamy, though, complimented all 19 JD(S) MLAs who voted for the party. “It is a befitting reply to the Congress which had claimed that it would get 12-13 votes from our party,” he added. “We had fielded our candidate to test our strength.”
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