Bengaluru, June 27: A three-member investigation committee formed by the BJP has submitted its report regarding the alleged cross voting in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections to State President B.Y. Vijayendra.
The committee was established following accusations that BJP legislators engaged in cross voting in favor of the Congress party during the recent elections.
After presenting the report at the BJP state office in Bengaluru, former national general secretary and Legislative Council member C.T. Ravi spoke to reporters. He mentioned that the committee, which included State Vice President N. Mahesh and MLA Mahesh Tenginakai, was formed under the direction of the state president.
Ravi stated, “We were instructed to investigate the matter and submit a report. We completed the investigation within four days. All three members of the committee unanimously prepared the report, which has now been submitted to the state president.”
During the investigation, the committee identified suspicious individuals based on media reports and public statements. They then conducted personal interviews with several leaders.
He explained that the committee consulted BJP candidates, sought opinions from JDS leaders, interacted with media representatives, and verified information through them. Additionally, they consulted the party’s chief whip and the leader of the opposition in the assembly. The report was prepared based on local circumstances and available evidence.
However, Ravi declined to disclose the contents of the report, stating that it is an internal investigation document.
He asserted, “This is an internal report. Detailed information cannot be shared. What needed to be made public has already been disclosed.”
Citing the election results, Ravi claimed that there was cross voting among 12 votes of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
He noted, “Both BJP candidates received 30 votes each. One candidate received 29 votes, and one vote was declared invalid. The second candidate received 27 votes, which is three votes short. Meanwhile, the JDS candidate was supposed to receive 22 votes but only got 14. This clearly indicates that there was cross voting among eight JDS and four BJP votes, totaling 12 NDA votes.”
Ravi accused the Congress party, stating that the ruling party should not assume these votes were received out of goodwill.
He remarked, “Cross voting is a result of unethical methods. Congress leaders have previously labeled such incidents in other states as attacks on democratic values, but now they have resorted to unethical means to facilitate cross voting. Therefore, they have no moral right to question incidents in other states.”
He added that the report also highlighted areas within the party that require greater vigilance and identified organizational shortcomings.
Ravi mentioned that this is an interim report, and it will be up to the state president and the party’s core committee to decide whether further investigation is necessary.
Notably, on Friday, BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra stated during a visit to Dharmasthala that he has no ties with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and dismissed allegations of encouraging cross voting in the Legislative Council elections.
Meanwhile, expelled BJP MLA S.T. Somasekhar alleged on Thursday that Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje is responsible for the cross voting by BJP legislators. He claimed that internal strife between State President B.Y. Vijayendra and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok was also a contributing factor to the entire incident.
Somasekhar further alleged that the cross voting was part of a conspiracy aimed at removing Vijayendra and R. Ashok from their positions.
Earlier, Leader of the Opposition R. Ashok and State President B.Y. Vijayendra met with party leadership in New Delhi to provide detailed information regarding the alleged cross voting, after which the BJP initiated a factual investigation into the matter.
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