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DK Shivakumar and the Political Cross-Voting Strategy in Karnataka

Friday, June 19, 2026
5 min read
DK Shivakumar and the Political Cross-Voting Strategy in Karnataka

DK Shivakumar, Karnataka’s Chief Minister he really is the troubleshooter and crisis manager for Congress, people call him the “Chanakya of the Congress” for his political smarts. It wasn't just luck, you know? He managed to outmaneuver rivals, grab key wins.

In those recent MLC elections, he pulled off something specific. Not only did he get all five Congress candidates elected, but look at this: Vinay Karthik, that fifth guy, who was supposed to barely scrape by with the minimum votes he actually won with the biggest margin among all five nominees. That’s a move. A calculated one.

This whole thing felt like the first big test for him in his new role. Barely two weeks after he took over, he managed another political strike against Union Steel and Heavy Industries Minister HD Kumaraswamy. Allegedly engineering an eleven-member cross-vote in favor of Congress in the Legislative Council polls. That’s heavy stuff happening behind the scenes.

The JD(S) had Govind Raju fielding his candidate to keep their group together, trying to hold onto that eighteen-member strength. The math suggested Congress should have easily hit around 140 votes. Plus three Independents and two expelled BJP members Shivaram Hebbar and ST Somashekar should have helped out.

But they didn't get those expected votes. Instead of 140, the five Congress candidates pulled in 151 votes. Where did that extra support come from? It screams cross-voting from both BJP and JD(S) MLAs. Govind Raju’s side only got fourteen votes, even though the BJP had allocated four of its own votes to them.

Then there was Vinay Karthik again. A close associate of Shivakumar, he was fielded just to make sure no vote was wasted. Party sources whispered that while Congress would have won four seats comfortably, putting up a fifth candidate it was all about maximizing the vote usage. Four expected wins for Congress, two for BJP based on their allocations.

Senior Congress leader VS Ugrappa weighed in. He said this outcome reflects what people actually feel ahead of the 2028 elections. “The cross-voting we saw? It’s a clear sign of disgruntlement,” he noted. “And it shows that the MLAs were choosing Congress.” He added, "DK Shivakumar engineered a win that even the BJP and JD(S) were left stunned by."

Ugrappa then turned his focus on the party discipline itself. He asked, where is the discipline now? Where is it when they so often boast about it? It felt like a real report card for the state leadership, a sign of weakness under the BJP’s grip.

Leader of Opposition R Ashoka acknowledged there were irregularities. The expected allocation was thirty votes each per MLA. But cross-voting messed with that math entirely. He said three MLAs had crossed over, and they would investigate who did it. Betrayal needs action, he insisted.

The JD(S) situation also shows the cracks. They fielded their candidate for unity, but the results show fragmentation within their strength. Congress sources pointed fingers at Shivakumar’s political strategy, blaming cross-voting from both BJP and JD(S) MLAs for the result. It wasn't just one party playing a game here.

The numbers tell another story too. The Congress and its allies had about 138 assured votes in that Assembly of 224 members. Yet, their candidates ended up with 151 votes proof of support coming from outside the usual camp.

Congress General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala framed it as a reflection of public backing for the government’s policies. He pointed to the five guarantee schemes where nearly ₹56,000 crore flows annually. The BJP and JD(S) wanted these guarantees gone, but their own MLAs seemed to trust the Congress government's direction.

Meanwhile, those expelled MLAs ST Somashekar, A Shivaram Hebbar, Basanagouda Patil Yatnal plus JD(S) leader GT Deve Gowda, they all said they voted based on their conscience. That’s a complicated mess of loyalties. Somashekar and Hebbar, who used to be Congress before jumping to the BJP in 2019 and serving as ministers now, seem aligned with the ruling party.

The BJP had to face internal review meetings just to figure out these cross-voting legislators. The JD(S) is facing serious questions about its own cohesion and discipline. It all points back to Shivakumar’s strategy, pulling strings from both sides of the political divide.

Written by Gree News Team — Senior Editorial Board

Gree News Team covers international news and global affairs at Gree News. Our collective of senior editors is dedicated to providing independent, accurate, and responsible journalism for a global audience.

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