Bengaluru, June 19 (IANS) After the victory of all five Congress candidates in the Legislative Council elections held for seven seats, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar, accompanied by his wife Usha Shivakumar, offered prayers at the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala on Friday.

This is his first visit to Tirupati after assuming the role of Chief Minister.

The Chief Minister visited the renowned hill shrine and had ‘darshan’ of Lord Venkateswara during the early hours of the day. Temple authorities received the couple and facilitated their visit to the temple.

Shivakumar and his wife offered special prayers and sought the blessings of Lord Venkateswara. Following the darshan, temple officials presented them with ‘prasadam’ and other traditional honours.

The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) temple is one of the most revered pilgrimage centres in the country and attracts lakhs of devotees every year. Sources stated that Shivakumar had gone to seek blessings before taking up the challenging task of cabinet expansion.

Shivakumar was seen performing religious rituals with devotion in the premises of the temple. He is scheduled to return to Bengaluru in a special flight and attend a series of meetings.

The CM is chairing a high-level meeting regarding the verification of the guarantee schemes. The decision of the Congress government to verify guarantee schemes has stirred controversy, and the opposition has alleged that the process of verification is a ploy to stop the guarantees.

It can be recalled that all five Congress candidates in the fray for the Karnataka Legislative Council emerged victorious; the BJP secured two seats, but its NDA partner, the JD(S), lost as per the much-awaited results announced on Thursday.

The development is seen as a boost for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and a setback for the BJP and JD(S) alliance. It is also a setback for JD(S) leader and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, who took the election as a matter of prestige and challenged CM Shivakumar.

The Congress party managed to secure 11 additional votes, including support from three BJP MLAs and six JD(S) MLAs who reportedly cross-voted in favour of the Congress candidates.

Vinay Karthik, the fifth Congress candidate, secured 32 votes, more than any of the four candidates initially announced by the party. After the announcement of the first four candidates, Shivakumar had proposed the candidature of Karthik, considered a close associate and distant relative.

CM Shivakumar on Thursday expressed satisfaction over the Congress’ performance in the Legislative Council elections, saying the results reflected growing public confidence in the state government.

Shivakumar said he was surprised by the extent of support received by the Congress candidates.

“I am surprised by the level of support our government has received from legislators. It sends a clear message that the people are with us and that MLAs have supported us across party lines. Our MLAs remained united and stood by the party. I want to assure them that I will uphold the trust they have placed in us. This is a government of the people, and we will continue to serve the people. This strength has been given to us by the people,” he said.

–IANS

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