For these MLAs, illness no bar for voting

Six MLAs, from both the ruling BJP and the Opposition Congress, made it a point to arrive at Vidhana Soudha and cast their votes in the Council bypoll on Thursday, despite being truly unwell.

Former minister Katta Subramanya Naidu, who is presently out on bail on medical grounds, was among the MLAs to vote early in the day. It is said he came all the way from London, where he was undergoing treatment, to vote in the bypoll.

Katta sounded philosophical in his brief chat with the media. "I feel relieved after exercising my franchise. I am very happy to be here and I wish that everybody is happy. I hope God brings happiness to all this Christmas," he said and added that he would return to London on January 2. He was wearing a monkey cap and sweater. He has shed a lot of weight following his stay in jail.

The 37-year-old Santosh Lad of the Congress, who is a health freak, made it to the polling booth with great difficulty. He is down with severe viral fever. He has been hospitalised for the last two days. But he came to the polling with an IV cannula on his left hand.

He arrived at the Vidhana Soudha with the support of two of his aides.

The Congress candidate in the bypoll, Anand Gaddedevaramath, is a close aide of Lad as both are into mining business.

Three other BJP MLAs - Basavaraj Patil Attur, Siddu Savadi and Eshanna Gulagannanavar - who are unwell also voted in the bypoll after arriving on wheelchairs. Eshanna has been unwell for many months, while Savadi met with a road accident recently. Attur was unwell for the last few days and was being treated at Manipal Hospital in Bangalore.

Breakfast and lunch

To keep its flock together on the polling day, the BJP had made arrangements for breakfast (8.30 am) and lunch (12.30 pm) for its MLAs at Vidhana Soudha. The plan proved a success.

Soon after the breakfast, MLAs walked to the polling venue in groups and voted. Almost all the BJP MLAs, including former chief minister B S Yeddyurappa and his loyalists, had voted by noon.

Sadananda Gowda, whose election as MLC was necessary for him to continue as chief minister, accompanied many of the legislators - including Naidu and five independent MLAs who were once part of the government - to the polling booth.

Former BJP leader and independent MLA Sriramulu also voted early in the day. However, his associates who are BJP MLAs did not accompany him.

They arrived at the Vidhana Soudha separately and cast their votes. Sriramulu refused to divulge as to who he voted for, but said he believes his associates have voted in favour of the BJP candidate. All 71 Congress MLAs came separately and exercised their franchise. The JD(S) abstained from voting, as announced earlier.

NCP members

Three Congress MLAs - B C Patil, Prakash Hukkeri and Malikaiah Guttedar - who are said to be nurturing a plan to join the National Congress Party (NCP) arrived at the polling booth in a separate group.

When asked by reporters in lighter vain whether they voted as Congress or NCP MLAs, they simply waved their wrist watches (symbol of NCP).

Price of loyalty

BJP MLA Kalakappa Gurushantappa Bandi’s eagerness to prove his loyality to Chief Minister D V Sadananda Gowda rendered his vote invalid.

Bandi was about to cast his vote when the chief minister asked him in a lighter vein who he was voting for. The MLA, who was holding the ballot paper, promptly replied he was voting in his favour.

Officials in-charge of the polling immediately took away the ballot paper from the MLA and declared it an invalid vote. As the byelection was held under secret ballot method, the member was not supposed to reveal his vote.