JD(S) to Raise Cross-Voting Issue with BJP Central Leaders

After a setback in the Legislative Council elections, where at least four of its legislators cross-voted, the Janata Dal (Secular) is expected to discuss the matter with its National Democratic Alliance partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party. The regional party maintains that the election outcome will not affect the alliance.

Of the 11 cross votes that went to the Congress from the NDA, the JD(S) believes four came from its own legislators. Additionally, four votes allocated by the BJP to the JD(S) candidate also went to the Congress. The remaining three are unaccounted for.

Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has already spoken to BJP central leaders about the defeat and the cross-voting. He is expected to submit a detailed report on the reasons behind the cross-voting from both parties and the coordination issues that arose before the election, according to JD(S) sources.

There was a lack of coordination between the two parties regarding vote allocation, and they did not hold a joint preparatory meeting before the polls. The JD(S) held its legislators at a resort near Devanahalli for training, while the BJP trained its legislators at a hotel in Bengaluru.

The allocation of votes to the JD(S) changed multiple times. Initially, the BJP promised to transfer six of its votes to the JD(S), but concerns about cross-voting from the BJP reduced that number to four. The JD(S) suspects that even these four votes did not go to its candidate.

Despite the loss, the party asserts that the alliance will remain strong. A JD(S) source said, “The ruling Congress has hurt both NDA partners, so the alliance will become even stronger.”

Interestingly, although the JD(S) lost at least four of its own votes, 17 out of 18 legislators attended the training session on the eve of the election. The same 17 were present at a meeting with Mr. Kumaraswamy the day after the election. Only G.T. Deve Gowda was absent from both events, including those who cross-voted.

On Friday, several legislators urged Mr. Kumaraswamy to investigate the cross-voting and take action, but the Union Minister was not inclined to do so. Sources said the party has a “rough idea” of who cross-voted and the possible reasons.

Mr. Kumaraswamy reportedly told the legislators that his politics is based on mutual trust. “He told them that if anyone wanted to leave the party, they were welcome. He said there was a mutual relationship and he would not stand in the way if someone sought better opportunities,” a source said.

Janata Dal (S) Legislative Party leader C.B. Suresh Babu told reporters that they have requested disciplinary action against those who cross-voted, but have left the decision to Mr. Kumaraswamy. He added that the Congress, which allegedly engaged in horse trading, would eventually reveal the names.