Belagavi (Karnataka) [India], June 21 : Amid high drama over cross-voting by BJP legislators in the Karnataka Legislative Council (MLC) elections, former Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Sunday alleged that "huge money offers" from the ruling Congress led "gullible" MLAs astray.
This comes as the BJP central leadership expressed strong displeasure over the lapse, summoning State President BY Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, and State In-charge Radhamohan Das Agarwal to Delhi to explain the setback, sources said.
Speaking to reporters in Belagavi, Bommai termed the situation "unfortunate" and said the party did not expect cross-voting from its legislators.
"It is really unfortunate that there was cross-voting from the BJP during the Vidhan Parishad election. It was not expected," Bommai said.
He further alleged that some BJP MLAs were influenced by pressure and financial offers.
"However, there was a lot of pressure from the Congress government, and there was a huge money offer, and some gullible MLAs fell for it," he claimed.
Bommai further confirmed that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken serious note of the matter and has initiated a formal inquiry to identify the erring legislators.
"We have appointed a committee to look into the matter. As soon as the committee report comes, our party high command will take a suitable decision and action against those MLAs," Bommai said.
According to sources, at least 11 NDA MLAs in Karnataka indulged in cross-voting during the MLC polls, a development that has left the party's top leadership upset.
Earlier, on June 19, the BJP central leadership also expressed strong displeasure over cross-voting by its MLAs in the elections, with Karnataka State President BY Vijayendra, Leader of Opposition R Ashoka, and State In-charge Radhamohan Das Agarwal summoned to Delhi on June 23, sources said on Friday.
Meanwhile, the BJP Karnataka unit has constituted a three-member committee to investigate cross-voting by its MLAs in the Legislative Council elections held on June 18.
According to a press release issued from the BJP state headquarters, Bengaluru, BJP state president BY Vijayendra said it had come to light that some MLAs had cross-voted, defeating the party's official candidates.
"To ascertain the truth and reality behind this setback, a committee comprising the following key leaders has been formed," the release stated.
The committee has been asked to submit a comprehensive report on the matter by June 25, 2026.
Committee members include CT Ravi - Member, Legislative Council; N Mahesh - State Vice President; Mahesh Tenginakayi - MLA.
The move comes after at least four to five BJP MLAs allegedly cross-voted in the June 18 MLC polls. The Congress won five of the seven seats, while the BJP secured only two despite having 64 MLAs in the Assembly.
Congress, which has 135 MLAs, polled 151 votes in the election, with all five of its candidates declared elected in the first round. The BJP won two seats, while the JD(S) candidate lost.
The BJP has 64 MLAs, but its two candidates together secured only 56 votes, a shortfall of eight. JD(S) has 18 MLAs, but its candidate got only 14 votes. As part of the NDA arrangement, the BJP had assigned three of its MLAs to vote for the JD(S) candidate, taking the JD(S) tally to 21. Yet the JD(S) ended up with just 14, seven votes short.
The results indicated cross-voting from both the BJP and JD(S) ranks.