Amid speculation that former Minister and JD(S) MLA G.T. Deve Gowda had cross-voted in the Legislative Council elections on Thursday, he said he had “voted according to his conscience” and challenged anyone to prove that he had engaged in cross-voting.

Fears of cross voting were evident across all three major political parties, particularly after Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar fielded his loyalist Vinay Karthik against JD(S) candidate Govindaraju for the seventh seat.

Mr. Gowda has been maintaining a distance from the JD(S) during the last few months, and this led to speculation about cross voting.

As Mr. Gowda arrived alone in the morning to cast his vote, a section of the media reported that the JD(S) legislator may have cross-voted. However, he later dismissed the speculation.

“I was not feeling well, which is why I came early to vote. I voted according to my conscience. Our party’s candidate will win. They say someone has cross-voted. Let them prove it,” he said.

The MLA further said that JD(S) State president and Union Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy had not been in touch with him. “No one has contacted me since morning. Mr. Kumaraswamy also knows that the JD(S) candidate will win,” he added.

Mr. Gowda’s son and JD(S) MLA G.D. Harish Gowda also rejected the speculation. “I saw reports in the media claiming that Mr. Gowda was involved in cross voting. I see no reason to doubt him.”