Two polling booths have been set up inside the state secretariat to facilitate secret voting by MLAs
New Delhi: Voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council began at 9 a.m. on Thursday at Vidhana Soudha and will continue until 4 p.m.
Two polling booths have been set up inside the state secretariat to facilitate secret voting by MLAs. CCTV cameras have been installed both inside and outside the polling room, and all arrangements for voting have been completed. Necessary police security has been deployed at Vidhana Soudha. Results will be announced this evening after voting concludes.
Ahead of polling, Congress MLAs arrived at Vidhana Soudha in groups. Buses were arranged to bring legislators from a resort to the venue for the election.
On the MLC polls, Leader of Opposition in the Karnataka Assembly, R. Ashoka, expressed confidence that the BJP's two candidates will win.
Speaking to ANI, Ashoka said, "Our two candidates will win, there is no doubt at all. We have good MLAs in our party; there is no cross-voting. We have to transfer the excess votes to the JD(S)... I called a meeting today and issued the whip."
Of the seven seats falling vacant, four are currently held by the Congress, two by the BJP, and one by the JD(S). Eight candidates are in the fray for seven seats, with each candidate requiring 28 votes to secure victory.
The Congress has fielded four candidates: BK Hariprasad, Tippannappa Kamaknoor, PV Mohan, and Shivanna Malavalli. The BJP has nominated Raghu Kautilya and Lingaraj Patil. The main contest for the seventh seat is expected to be between Congress candidate Vinay Karthik and JD(S) candidate Govindaraju.
The election is being seen as an important test for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, as it is the first major poll under his leadership.
Meanwhile, voting has also begun for the Nagpur Local Authorities Legislative Council by-election in Maharashtra.
According to a press note issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI), the vacancy arose on November 23, 2024, after sitting member Chandrashekhar Krishnaraoji Bawankule vacated the seat following his election to the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. His term was scheduled to run until January 1, 2028.
The Commission said the by-election could not be held earlier because the required criteria for local bodies and electors in the constituency had not been met.
Now, with the Chief Electoral Officer of Maharashtra informing that at least 75 per cent of local bodies are functioning and 75 per cent of electors are in place, the Commission has decided to proceed with the election.
As per the schedule released by the ECI, the notification was issued on May 25, 2026. The last date for filing nominations was June 1, scrutiny was held on June 2, and the last date for withdrawal of candidatures was June 4.
Polling is being held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 18. Counting of votes is scheduled for June 22, and the election process will be completed before June 25.
