Bengaluru, June 27 (IANS) A three-member BJP committee on Saturday submitted its report to State BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra on the alleged cross-voting during the Karnataka Legislative Council elections.

It can be noted that alleged cross-voting by BJP MLAs, in favour of the Congress in the Council elections held recently, has left the party red-faced, especially at a time when several Opposition MPs elsewhere in the country appear to be breaking away from their parties and extending support to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Speaking to reporters after submitting the report at the BJP state office in Bengaluru, former BJP national general secretary and MLC C.T. Ravi said the committee was constituted by Vijayendra to conduct an internal enquiry into the alleged cross-voting.

“The committee, comprising myself, State Vice-President N. Mahesh and MLA Mahesh Tenginakayi, was asked to investigate the matter and submit a report. As directed, we completed the enquiry within four days. All three members unanimously agreed on the findings, and the report has now been submitted to the State President,” Ravi said.

He said the committee initiated its enquiry after receiving directions from the State President and held virtual meetings to identify suspected individuals by analysing media reports and public statements.

“We conducted one-on-one discussions with several leaders. We also sought the views of the BJP candidates, consulted JD(S) leaders, interacted with media persons and verified the information available through their sources. We also consulted the party’s Chief Whip and the Leader of the Opposition. Based on local evidence and surrounding circumstances, we prepared the report,” he said.

Ravi, however, declined to reveal the contents of the report, stating that it was an internal enquiry.

“This is an internal report and I cannot share any further details. Whatever information was meant for the public has already been disclosed,” he said.

Referring to the election results, Ravi alleged that 12 NDA votes had been cross-voted.

“We had allocated 30 votes each to our two BJP candidates. One candidate secured 29 votes, while one vote was declared invalid. The other candidate received 27 votes, resulting in a shortfall of three votes. The JD(S) candidate was expected to receive 22 votes but secured only 14. This indicates that eight JD(S) votes and four BJP votes, a total of 12 NDA votes, were cross-voted,” he claimed.

Alleging the involvement of the Congress, Ravi said the ruling party should not assume that the cross-votes were cast out of goodwill towards it.

“The Congress should not think these votes came because of affection for the party. The cross-voting was the result of unethical practices. Congress leaders have often criticised similar incidents in other states, claiming that democratic values were being undermined. Now they themselves have resorted to unethical methods to engineer cross-voting. They have no moral authority to question similar incidents elsewhere,” he alleged.

Ravi further said the report also identified areas where the party should have exercised greater caution and highlighted lapses in its internal processes.

Describing the report as an interim one, he said the State BJP President and the party’s Core Committee would decide whether further investigation into the matter was necessary.

It can be recalled that the cross-voting row in Karnataka took a dramatic turn on Friday, with BJP State President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra visiting the pilgrimage centre of Dharmasthala and asserting that he has “no connection whatsoever” with Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar. He also dismissed allegations that he had encouraged cross-voting in the recently concluded Legislative Council elections.

Expelled BJP MLA S.T. Somashekar on Thursday alleged that Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje was responsible for the cross-voting by BJP legislators in the recent Karnataka Legislative Council elections, attributing it to internal rivalry within the party.

He also claimed that internal rivalry between BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra and Leader of the Opposition R. Ashoka contributed to the cross-voting.

“Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje is responsible for the cross-voting. She does not like either Vijayendra or Ashoka, and that is the main reason for what happened. Due to political ill-will, she got it done and is directly responsible for it,” he alleged.

Somashekar further claimed that the cross-voting was part of a conspiracy aimed at forcing Vijayendra and Ashoka to step down from their positions.

Karnataka Assembly Opposition leader R. Ashoka, along with State party President and MLA B.Y. Vijayendra, on Tuesday met the party President Nitin Nabin in New Delhi and briefed him on the alleged cross-voting by BJP legislators during the recently concluded Karnataka Legislative Council elections.

The BJP leadership has constituted a fact-finding exercise to ascertain the circumstances surrounding the alleged cross-voting, which has triggered political debate within the party following the Legislative Council elections.

–IANS

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