Bengaluru: The political fallout from the alleged cross-voting in the Karnataka Legislative Council elections has intensified, with the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) internal fact-finding committee submitting its interim report to state president BY Vijayendra. While the report points to three instances of suspected cross-voting and one invalid vote within the BJP-JD(S) alliance, it stops short of naming the legislators involved.

The committee, headed by MLC CT Ravi and comprising former minister N Mahesh and MLA Mahesh Tenginakai, was constituted by the state BJP leadership following allegations that some NDA legislators had voted against the alliance’s official candidates during the Council polls.

After conducting a four-day inquiry, interacting with legislators, senior leaders and other sources, the committee submitted its findings in a sealed three-page report at the BJP state office in Malleswaram on Friday.

Speaking after submitting the report, CT Ravi said the panel had carried out an internal inquiry as instructed by the party president and compiled its observations based on discussions with legislators, information gathered from various sources and reports available in the public domain.

According to party sources, the report states that the NDA alliance had expected 12 votes, but one vote was declared invalid while three others are suspected to have been cast against the alliance’s interests. However, the committee has not identified the legislators allegedly responsible, mentioning only the number of suspected cross votes and recommending close monitoring of those under suspicion.

The issue has triggered intense discussions within the BJP, particularly following reports that a senior MLA from the Belagavi region may have been involved in the alleged cross-voting. Although the party has not officially confirmed any names, the matter is understood to have been discussed during internal meetings and is now being examined by the central leadership.

The controversy has also exposed differences within the state unit over election management. Senior leaders are said to have expressed displeasure over the handling of the polling process, arguing that stricter measures, including keeping MLAs together before voting and implementing the party’s voting strategy more effectively, could have prevented the alleged cross-voting.

BJP General Secretary Pritam Gowda confirmed that the interim report has been submitted to Vijayendra and will now be forwarded to the party’s central leadership. He maintained that the document is confidential and said any further action, including disciplinary measures, would be decided by the BJP high command after examining the report.

The BJP core committee is expected to deliberate on the findings before the party leadership takes a final call on the next course of action.