RS Polls: JDS alleges Congress of cross-voting in Karnataka

Bengaluru : Amidst the Rajya Sabha elections that are taking place across six states, Janata Dal-Secular (JDS) on Friday claimed that the Congress MLAs have cross voted in Karnataka.

Speaking to media, HD Kumaraswamy, JDS leader said, "Two senior Congress leaders cross-voted in the first ballot paper. Returning officer allowed them to vote again in the fresh ballot paper. Illegal voting is going on, requested EC Observer to counter mandate the process."

For the 58 Rajya Sabha seats to be filled, 33 candidates from 10 states have been unanimously elected. Voting for the remaining 25 seats is being held in six states Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Telangana.

Earlier in the day, Samajwadi Party (SP) leader Ram Gopal Yadav said there would be no cross voting from their party. He also expressed confidence that some BJP MLAs would vote for the SP in the ongoing Rajya Sabha polls.

The Rajya Sabha vacancies next month include 17 from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 12 from the Congress.

Three nominated members - actress Rekha, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, and social worker Anu Aga -- will retire in April.

The BJP has filed 18 candidates for the biennial polls. They include Anil Baluni, the national head of the BJP's media wing, from Uttarakhand and Saroj Pandey, BJP general secretary, from Chhattisgarh.