Ruling Congress dealt a blow

Bengaluru: Dealing a severe jolt to the ruling Congress dispensation in the State, the Opposition NDA candidates won all the 4 Legislative Council (LC) seats from Graduates and Teachers Constituencies, the counting of which was taken up yesterday. The polls to the 4 seats were held on Oct. 23. The counting concluded on Oct. 27-28, resulting in a 4-0 sweep by the BJP led NDA alliance. The BJP secured 3 seats (South-East Graduates’, West Graduates and North-East Teachers’), while its alliance partner, the JD(S) won the Bengaluru Teachers’ seat, leaving the ruling Congress party with a blank. The defeat of the Congress is seen as a big setback for Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar who has taken over as the CM from Siddaramaiah on June 3, 2026.

While A.P. Ranganath of the JD(S) won the Bengaluru Teachers’ seat, incumbent MLC and BJP candidate Shashil Namoshi retained the North-East Teachers’ Constituency, S.V. Sankanur of the BJP retained West Graduates Constituency and K.M. Suresh of the BJP won from South-East Graduates’ Constituency.

While A.P. Ranganath of the JD(S) won on this third attempt defeating sitting MLC and Congress candidate Puttana, Shashil Namoshi of the BJP won by  a margin of 3,297 votes against his nearest Congress rival Sharanappa Mattur, S.V. Sankanur of the BJP defeated his nearest rival Mohan Limbikai of the Congress and K.M. Suresh of the BJP, who contested for the first time, defeated Shashi Hulikuntemath of the Congress.