BJP’s hunt for cross-voters may prove futile, risks deepening factionalism

Bengaluru: While brass at JD(S), its ally, has chosen to put the incident behind them and move on, BJP’s decision to form a three-member panel to identify legislators who cross-voted in the recent legislative council elections may be an exercise in futility, given the secret ballot system and the limited scope for punitive action.

What’s more, it also risks deepening internal divisions.An estimated 12 opposition MLAs allegedly backed Vinay Karthik, Congress’ fifth nominee, handing the governing party five of the seven seats and heaping much embarrassment on the combined BJP and JD(S) opposition.Functionaries across party lines say conclusively identifying those who cross-voted is near impossible because unlike in Rajya Sabha elections, MLAs are not required to show their ballot papers to authorised party observers in legislative council polls.A senior JD(S) MLA from Mysuru said suspicion alone cannot translate into proof. “They may know who cross-voted, but unless they find some kind of money trail, they will have no proof to substantiate their allegations,” he said.Jagadish Shettar, former CM and now MP, who also served as assembly speaker, acknowledged the challenge. “It is very difficult to identify the black sheep unless one gets circumstantial evidence,” he said.Another BJP functionary said only evidence such as bribery payments or documented meetings with governing party members before the election can strengthen a case against any legislator.Even if the party identifies likely suspects, its options remain limited.

Since the anti-defection law generally applies to votes inside the House and not to elections such as legislative council polls, disqualification is not an option.

At best, the party can initiate internal disciplinary proceedings.Political analyst Sandeep Shastri said BJP’s exercise of forming a team appeared more symbolic than practical. “It is only to show some action is being taken,” he said. “There bigger issue is the deep fissures within the state unit of the party.”Analyst Ravindra Reshme said the move risks diverting attention from organisational shortcomings that may have contributed to the embarrassment. “The three-member panel is a face-saving attempt by state BJP brass to divert attention from its own organisational inefficiency and lack of pre-election management,” he said.Political observers say the search for “betrayers” could deepen factional tensions within BJP without producing any conclusive results.

With no legal route for disqualification and little chance of proving how individual MLAs voted, the exercise risks creating mistrust within the legislature party.“BJP should have focused on preventing the problem rather than containing the damage,” a party functionary said. “It should have convened a meeting a few days before the polls, instructed MLAs on vote allocation, and emphasised the party high command’s message of discipline.

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