The Janata Dal (Secular) candidate D. Kupendra Reddy may have lost Rajya Sabha election, but the party is happy that it managed to avert any split of its votes.
With all the 19 JD(S) legislators turning up at Vidhana Soudha to vote for their candidate Mr. Reddy, the party was united unlike in some earlier instances. In Rajya Sabha elections in the past, the JD(S) has been a victim of cross voting — in 2016 when eight of its members cross voted in favour of Congress and in 2022 when one legislator cross voted in favour of Congress and another cast an invalid vote.
For months now, Congress leaders, especially KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar, had been claiming that JD(S) legislators were ready to join the Congress, many a times unsettling the leaders. They have claimed it was one of the factors that ultimately drove the regional party to the saffron camp, forging an alliance ahead of Lok Sabha elections. Despite attempts by the ruling party to “brainwash” JD(S) legislators to desert the party, members showed their loyalty and remained united, party sources said. The party stuck together though Gurmitkal legislator Sharanagouda Kandakur had for sometime distanced himself over differences with leaders.
The leaders believe that Rajya Sabha results provide a communication space that could eventually address the differences. A party leader described the result as a “victory amidst loss.” Despite the setback in Mr. Reddy losing the election, they claimed that these developments would help the party consolidate further.
