BJP wins all four Karnataka MLC seats, says ballot-paper result points to 2028

The BJP-Janata Dal (Secular) alliance won all four Karnataka Legislative Council seats in elections held on October 28, 2026. The victorious candidates were AP Ranganath, Shashil G Namoshi, KM Suresh and SV Sankanur.

The BJP described the result as a clear message to the Congress government ahead of the 2028 Assembly elections. Opposition Leader R Ashoka said the alliance won three seats directly and JD(S) won one.

“Button or Ballot: Result is the same.”

Former Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said the outcome was significant because voting was conducted exclusively using ballot papers. He noted that Congress leaders had repeatedly demanded ballot-paper voting.

Congress Chief Minister DK Shivakumar said voters had sent his party a message. He stated that Congress would examine the result thoroughly to understand what went wrong and take corrective measures.

Across Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra and Karnataka, elections for 28 Legislative Council seats were held on October 23 using ballot papers. Counting began on Monday and continued in some constituencies until Tuesday.

By Wednesday evening, the Congress had failed to win any of the seats declared in the results covered by the reports. Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked on X how many seats Congress had won despite ballot-paper voting.

Union Minister Pralhad Joshi wrote that the result was the same whether voting was by button or ballot. The BJP said its guarantee schemes were the only guarantee for the 2028 elections.