Karnataka Council polls: Setback to Congress raises questions over leadership and strategy for 2028 Assembly elections

Karnataka Council elections have dealt a setback to the Congress party, as they lost the Bengaluru Teachers' constituency to the NDA candidate, A.P. Ranganath. The outcome could provide a boost to the NDA allies following their jolt in the June poll, where 11 of their MLAs switched their allegiance to seven Legislative Council seats.

The Congress had won five out of seven seats in the recent elections, whereas the NDA secured two seats. Earlier in May, the Congress also won the Davangere South and Bagalkot bypolls, retaining both the seats despite internal differences among its members.

The Bengaluru Teachers' constituency witnessed a narrow victory for Ranganath, who received 10,810 first preference votes compared to Puttanna's 9,902 votes. A total of 21,056 votes were valid, while 1,857 were invalid. The JD(S) party attributes their win to good coordination with the BJP, their alliance partner, although they delayed announcing their candidate.

H.D. Kumaraswamy, a Union Minister, praised the alliance's strength, stating that the election is a sign of hope for the upcoming 2028 elections and symbolizes unity in the alliance.

Meanwhile, the BJP candidate S.V. Sankanur, who served as a sitting member, is set to enter the Legislative Council for his fifth term by defeating Congress candidate Sharanappa Mattur by a margin of 3,297 votes in the North-East Teachers Constituency. Sankanur secured 15,596 first preference votes against Mattur's 12,299 votes. Out of the total 30,253 ballot papers counted, 1,873 were invalid. BJP is currently leading in other constituencies, with polling and counting ongoing.