New Delhi: Three candidates from the ruling Congress party and one candidate from the BJP were elected to Rajya Sabha from Karnataka on Tuesday.


The Congress winners include Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, G C Chandrasekhar, and BJP's Narayana Bandage won the fiercely fought elections. Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, and G C Chandrasekhar won with 47, 46, and 46 votes respectively, while Narayana Bandage won with 47 votes. 


Five candidates were in the fray for the four seats in the elections, including JD(S) contestant D Kupendra Reddy. Reddy lost the election with 36 votes.






The biennial elections for the 56 seats were necessitated as 50 members will complete their term on April 2 and six will retire on April 3.


The elections were marred by cross-voting. While one of the BJP MLAs, S T Somashekar, voted for the Congress's Maken, the other, A Shivaram Hebbar, abstained.




After the result was declared, Karnataka Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar said, "This shows the unity and integrity of Congress. I thank all the MLAs, party workers and the media. I'm very happy to inform you that all Congress candidates have won. I thank all voters, CM and party workers and the AICC President also. I would like to thank Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge."





Earlier in the day, BJP chief whip Doddanagouda G. Patil accused Karnataka MLA ST Somashekar of cross-voting for the Congress in the Rajya Sabha elections. BJP chief whip Doddanagouda G. Patil stated that the party will take action against the MLA.


On cross-voting in Rajya Sabha elections, BJP Chief Whip in Karnataka Assembly, Doddanagouda G. Patil stated: "It is confirmed that ST Somashekar has cross-voted. We are discussing what can be done and what action to be taken."


Five candidates were running for the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka: Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, and G C Chandrasekhar (all from the Congress), Narayana Bandage (BJP), and Kupendra Reddy (JD(S)).


Three Congress and one BJP MP are retiring in Karnataka. It was projected that the BJP would win only one seat in the Congress-controlled state.


To gain a Rajya Sabha seat from Karnataka, each Rajya Sabha candidate must receive at least 45 votes from the state's 224 MLAs. The Congress has 135 MLAs, which is the exact amount needed to elect its three candidates, Ajay Maken, Nasir Hussain, and G C Chandrashekhar.


With 214 MLAs exercising their franchise for the four Rajya Sabha seats in Karnataka, the voting process began at 9 am and continued till 4 pm. 


The states where the Rajya Sabha polls took place include Uttar Pradesh (10), Maharashtra (6), Bihar (6), West Bengal (5), Madhya Pradesh (5), Gujarat (4), Karnataka (4), Andhra Pradesh (3), Telangana (3), Rajasthan (3), Odisha (3), Uttarakhand (1), Chhattisgarh (1), Haryana (1), and Himachal Pradesh (1).