Election to four Karnataka Legislative Council seats announced

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A view of the Karnataka Legislative Council at Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru. | Photo Credit: SUDHAKARA JAIN

The election to four seats in Karnataka Legislative Council that will fall vacant in November will be held on October 23, 2026, and results will be declared on October 27.

The polling is being held to Karnataka South East Graduates’ (Chidanand M. Gowda), Karnataka West Graduates’ (S.V. Sankanur), Karnataka North East Teachers’ (Shashil G. Namoshi) and Bangalore Teachers’ (Puttanna) seats. Barring Mr. Puttanna, who has been elected on Congress ticket, all others are from the BJP. The saffron party has re-nominated them to contest the polls.

The BJP’s NDA ally Janata Dal (Secular) will be contesting in the Bangalore Teachers’ constituency and has announced A.P. Ranganath as its candidate against Congress’s sitting member Puttanna. The Congress has named former MLC Mohan Limbikai (West Graduates’), former MLC Sharanappa Mathur (North East Teachers’) and Shashi Hulikuntemutt (South East Graduates’).

Currently, in the 75-member house, five seats that are to be nominated by the Government are vacant while the tenure of members of the four constituencies will come to an end on November 11. The Congress has a majority with 38 members while Opposition BJP and JD (S) have 24 members and 1 member, respectively. One seat is represented by an Independent.

JD(S) sources said that the coordination meetings with the BJP have commenced and some minor differences that had crept in have been resolved. Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is also expected to come to Bengaluru to hold strategy meetings both internally and with BJP, sources said.

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