Bengaluru, 18 June

With all 222 MLAs casting their ballots, voting for seven seats of the Karnataka Legislative Council has concluded, poll officials said on Thursday.

Members of the Karnataka Legislative Assembly voted in the election held at Vidhana Soudha, the seat of the State legislature and Secretariat here.  According to the returning officer, counting will begin at 5pm.

The candidates in the fray are Congress's ThippannappaKamknoor, PV Mohan, BK Hariprasad (KPCC president), Shivanna  S, and Vinay Karthik Prakash; BJP's Lingaraj Patil and Raghu R; and JD(S) leader Govindaraju.

The polls were necessitated as the terms of seven MLCs - Congress leaders Naseer Ahmed, Tippannappa, and BK Hariprasad, BJP leaders N Nagaraju (MTB), Prathap Simha Nayak K, and Sunil Vallyapur; and Govindaraju of JD(S) - are set to expire upon their retirement on 30 June.

Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former CM Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM G Parameshwara and Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Assembly R Ashoka were among the prominent leaders who cast their votes on Thursday.

Each candidate requires a minimum of 28 votes to win. The Congress and BJP are expected to comfortably win four and two seats respectively, based on their strength in the Assembly, officials said. However, a contest exists for the seventh seat, as both Congress and JD(S) fielded candidates despite lacking the strength to win it independently.

Both the Congress and JD(S) had sequestered their legislators at separate resorts on the City outskirts, amid fear of possible cross-voting. The ruling Congress, led by CM Shivakumar is determined to win five out of the seven seats with help from independents and unattached MLAs-- who were expelled from the BJP.

The JD(S), with the help of its alliance partner BJP, is hoping to win one seat and has requested other MLAs, including those from Congress, to cast a "vote of conscience" in its favour. Two of the three unattached members expelled from the BJP -- ST Somashekar and Shivaram Hebbar - said they voted as per their conscience.

Speaking to reporters, they said neither the BJP nor the JD(S) contacted them seeking votes, while CM Shivakumar sought support for theCongress candidate. They also said they brought issues concerning their constituencies to the notice of the CM, and he responded positively to their concerns.

Somashekar and Hebbar were seen on Wednesday at the resort where Congress legislators were camping. On Thursday too, they were seen with Congress legislators and even met Shivakumar. Another member expelled from the BJP, Basangouda Patil Yatnal, however, said he voted as per the BJP's directions, as he had won the MLA polls on that party's symbol. He also met Leader of Opposition in the assembly R Ashoka.

Meanwhile, senior JD(S) MLA G T Devegowda, who has maintained distance from the party for some time, voted separately and did not join other party legislators for voting, leading to speculation. Devegowda told reporters he voted according to his "conscience."