Bengaluru, June 19 -- Cross voting hurts BJP-JD(S) combine

A fortnight after taking over as the Chief Minister of the State, D.K. Shivakumar cleared the first 'litmus test' with flying colours on Thursday as he steered all the five Congress candidates to victory in the biennial Legislative Council polls from the MLAs quota.

With this win, the ruling Congress enjoys a majority in the Upper house with 39 MLCs in the 75-member house, which gives the party fresh oxygen now in the Legislative Council.

While the Congress won five seats, the BJP won two seats as expected. The JD(S), which entered the fray in a bid to deny the Congress its fifth seat, was in for a shock as the party candidate bites the dust.

The victorious Congress candidates...