Bengaluru, Jul 9 (PTI) BJP general secretary in-charge of Karnataka Radha Mohan Das Agrawal on Thursday said that appropriate action would be taken against party MLAs who engaged in cross-voting during the recent MLC polls in the state, once their identity is confirmed.
He also said the BJP and its alliance partner JD(S) remain in constant contact and continue to discuss various issues, including upcoming local body and Assembly by-polls. A coordination committee has been formed, and on behalf of the BJP, it includes state president B Y Vijayendra, Leader of the Opposition R Ashoka and Union Minister Pralhad Joshi.
“The process is going on and once it is confirmed as to who has cross-voted, necessary action will be taken, as the party believes in discipline. We accept that four of our people have cross-voted,” Agrawal said in response to a question by reporters.
Asked whether there will be changes in the party’s state unit, including its president and Leader of Opposition following the cross-voting episode, he said he was not aware of any such thing. “Whether any change will happen or not, I cannot say anything as of now. If it happens, you will know and even if it doesn’t happen you will know.” The ruling Congress on June 18 won five of the seven Legislative Council seats that went to the polls, while the opposition BJP bagged two. The JD(S) failed to win the one seat for which it contested.
The results revealed cross-voting by BJP and JD(S) legislators in favour of Congress candidates, as the ruling party received a total of 151 votes — 11 more than the expected 140.
Objecting to the practice of filling out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) enumeration forms in groups at religious places and locations suggested by Congress leaders, the BJP leader alleged that the ruling party is trying to use the SIR process for its own benefit.
Pointing out that the BJP has filed complaints that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are not visiting people’s homes, he added that the Election Commission has instructed BLOs to distribute the forms by visiting every household.
He also said that meetings of the party’s BLA-2 (Booth Level Agent-2) workers have been held and they have been trained.
“Our workers are stationed everywhere. We held a meeting today and after seeing a couple of days, if there is no change in the conduct of BLOs, we will take a stand.” Responding to another question, Agrawal said that the ruling Congress’ Muslim appeasement, involvement in corruption, belief that the BJP is weak, and other “wrongdoings” ultimately would work in the BJP’s favour.
Expressing confidence about the BJP’s win in the 2028 Karnataka Assembly elections, he said that people are already preparing for the polls.
He claimed that just as voters in West Bengal gave a fitting reply to TMC leader Mamata Banerjee, the people of Karnataka would similarly respond to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, CM D K Shivakumar, and former CM Siddaramaiah through their votes.
Agrawal on Thursday held meetings with Chikkaballapur MP K Sudhakar, Yelahanka MLA S R Vishwanath and few other leaders in Bengaluru. According to party sources, the discussions were arranged to quell infighting and public spats between the leaders, with Agarwal strictly directing the leaders to maintain party discipline and cease making public allegations. PTI KSU KH
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