Mandate for 2028, says HD Kumaraswamy after BJP-JD(S) alliance wins 4 MLC seats

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Janata Dal (Secular) alliance won all four Karnataka legislative council seats contested by teachers and graduates, delivering a major blow to the ruling Congress.

The alliance won all four contests reserved for teachers and university graduates across Bengaluru and surrounding districts. The results do not alter the overall balance of power in the 75-member legislative council, where Congress currently has 38 members. The BJP’s tally in the council will rise to 27, and the JD(S)’s to 7. Five seats earmarked for government nominations are vacant.

The JD(S) wrested the Bengaluru Teachers’ constituency from the Congress, with AP Ranganath defeating sitting legislative council member and former deputy chairman Puttanna by 908 votes. Ranganath secured 10,810 votes against Puttanna’s 9,902.

The BJP retained the North-East Teachers’ seat, where Shashil G Namoshi defeated Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur. The party also won the West Graduates’ constituency through S V Sankanur and the South-East Graduates’ constituency through K M Suresh, completing the alliance’s sweep.

Union minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy described the result as a mandate extending beyond the four constituencies. “This victory is historic. A clear mandate for the 2028 Assembly elections. This election has shown that there is strength in unity and alliance,” he said in a post on X.

Kumaraswamy said the outcome represented a defeat for what he called “lies, misgovernance, money power and muscle power”. He thanked workers from both parties and the teachers who supported Ranganath, crediting their joint campaign for the victory.

The result in Bengaluru was particularly significant for the JD(S) since Puttanna, a five-term member, had left the party for the Congress ahead of the 2023 assembly elections.

Both candidates belong to the Vokkaliga community, making the contest a test of the alliance’s ability to consolidate support behind a common candidate.

The Congress sought to retain the seat, with chief minister D K Shivakumar campaigning for Puttanna. The loss gives the BJP and JD(S) an opportunity to question the ruling party’s ability to hold support among organised groups of teachers and graduates.

JD(S) youth wing president Nikhil Kumaraswamy took a swipe at the Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over allegations that voting machines were used to steal elections. “Now that educated teachers voted on paper right under your government’s nose, what’s today’s excuse, ‘Paper Chori’?” he said in a post on X.

The Bengaluru Teachers’ election was conducted using ballot papers.

The four contests tested the BJP and JD(S)’s ability to coordinate their campaigns and draw support from each other’s voters. Under their arrangement, the BJP contested three constituencies while the JD(S) fielded Ranganath in Bengaluru. The alliance’s victories in all four seats gave both parties grounds to claim the arrangement worked in these contests.

The Congress had fielded candidates in all four constituencies, with Shivakumar and other senior leaders campaigning for the party.