Cross-voting and a few snubs,but Jethmalani,Paswan,Mallya in RS

So did liquor and airline baron Vijay Mallya,chairman of the Alchemist Group of Hospitals K D Singh,and several others.

In Bihar,MLAs of all major parties except the JDU jumped ship. Four BSP MLAs voted for RJDs Ramkripal Yadav,and one for JDUs Upendra Kushwaha. The BSP had decided to support the Independent candidate B G Uday,who got only two votes.

Two RJD MLAs voted for the JDU. BJP MLA Banbari Ram voted RJD. A Congress MLA voted JDU,and two JDU MLAs,said to be supporters of disgruntled leader Prabhunath Singh,abstained.

However,all five official candidates,Paswan and Ramkripal of RJD-LJP,JDUs Kushwaha and R C P Singh,and BJPs Rudy won. The BJP and RJD said they would take action against MLAs who defied the whip.

In Jharkhand,two JDU MLAs gave a rude shock to the BJP by voting for the JMM-AJSUs K D Singh,who also got five RJD votes to take his tally to a more-than-expected 32 votes.

Congress-JVM candidate Dheeraj Sahu too won by more votes than expected,getting the support of four Independents including Gita Koda,wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda,now in jail on corruption charges.

In Rajasthan,Congress efforts to secure the victory of Santosh Bagrodia failed,as the BJPs Jethmalani romped home. It was smooth sailing for the other BJP candidate V P Singh and Congress nominees Anand Sharma and Ashq Ali Tak.

The BJP had been tense about the outsider Jethmalanis fate after some MLAs voiced their dissent,and had to lock up all its 79 and the lone JDU MLA at a resort outside Jaipur to prevent last-minute horse trading.

The Karnataka winners were Naidu,Fernandes,Mallya and Ayanur Manjunath BJP. Mallya,fielded by the JDS,received the backing of both the BJP and the JDU. Chief Minister B S Yeddyurapa said his party had supported Independent candidate Mallya on the directions of BJP national leaders.

In Orissa,the Biju Janata Dal won all three seats after three Opposition MLAs abstained. Pyari Mohan Mohapatra and Sashi Bhushan Behera sailed through because of the partys majority in the Assembly. Baishnab Parida pipped seafood exporter Tara Ranjan Patnaik,supported by both the Congress and BJP,to the post by three votes.

There was drama after Congress MLA Sibaji Majhi failed to turn up to vote,and the party lodged an FIR saying he had been kidnapped at the BJDs behest. Majhis Congress colleague Gregory Minz too was said to be untraceable.