Congress dominates with a 5-seat victory in Karnataka MLC elections

The Congress secured a decisive victory in the Karnataka Legislative Council biennial elections, winning five out of the seven seats, as results marked a strong performance for the party in a key early test under the leadership of Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. The five Congress winning candidates include BK Hariprasad, Tippannanappa Kamakanoor, PV Mohan, Shivanna Malavalli, and Vinay Kartik. Celebrating the outcome, Shivakumar congratulated the winning candidates and expressed confidence in their continued public service.

"Heartfelt congratulations to the Congress party candidates Shri B.K. Hariprasad, Shri Tippannanappa Kamakanoor, Shri P.V. Mohan, Shri Shivanna Malavalli, and Shri Vinay Kartik, who have secured victory in the Legislative Council elections. We wish that your service to the people continues ceaselessly, and that your contributions to the state's development remain immeasurable," he posted on X. Speaking to reporters, Shivakumar credited the party leadership for finalising candidates and managing a strong show of support in the House.

"Today, the election was not expected. I thought that there would be no elections. But the JDS and BJP wanted to fight the elections. The Congress party and the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi finalised the candidates, who have been working in the party throughout the country," he said. Shivakumar added that the result reflected a broad consensus among legislators, including support from members across party lines.