Probe on to identify Karnataka BJP MLAs who cross-voted; ‘will be punished’, says high command

A high-level meeting convened by BJP national president Nitin Nabin with party leaders from Karnataka over the cross-voting that took place in the recently concluded Legislative Council polls in the State saw strong concerns expressed over lack of discipline within the party’s State unit, as demonstrated by the cross-voting.

Disciplinary action would be taken against those found to have cross-voted against the NDA’s candidate in the polls after a committee headed by MLC C.T. Ravi with State vice-president N. Mahesh and MLA Mahesh Tenginakayi as members submitted its report on the matter. The deadline for the committee to submit its report is June 25.

BJP Karnataka president B.Y. Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly R. Ashok, and BJP general secretary in charge of Karnataka Radha Mohan Das Agarwal were present at the meeting.

According to sources present at the meeting, Mr. Nabin took an extremely dim view of the cross-voting even as party leaders explained that they had cautioned NDA ally Janata Dal (Secular) leader H.D. Kumaraswamy against fielding a seventh candidate in the polls. “Nitinji said that even if the extra candidate strategy of the JD(S) was faulty, how does that explain the cross-voting in the BJP’s ranks?” said a source.

With seven seats up for grabs, the BJP had fielded two candidates and the Congress five. The JD(S) too had fielded a candidate for the seventh seat. While the Congress’s fifth candidate won due to the cross-voting, the JD(S) candidate lost. It is said that several JD(S) and BJP MLAs cross-voted in the polls. The identification of those who cross-voted is now a matter for Mr. Ravi and his committee to disclose.

The BJP’s high command feels that Mr. Kumaraswamy, by fielding an extra candidate, not just did a loyalty test within his own party but also exposed the schism in the BJP. Some in the Karnataka BJP feel that Mr. Kumaraswamy made that move at the behest of an anti-Vijayendra faction in the State unit, to expose the flaws in the latter’s leadership of the State unit. Whatever the case is, the Karnataka BJP has come off looking like a scattered, disunited unit.

At the end of the meeting, Mr. Ashok said that Mr. Nabin had asked that the matter be left to him to deal with, and that action would be taken against those who cross-voted. “We met our national president and held discussions on cross-poll (cross-voting in Karnataka MLC election) issues. He asked us to leave the matter to him and said that action had already been taken against those who betrayed the party. We also discussed party organisational matters in detail. We also held discussions with our leaders regarding strengthening the party and bringing it to power in the coming days,” said Mr. Ashok.