Veteran Bollywood actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) nominee Hema Malini was Thursday elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

She defeated noted Kannada writer K. Marulasiddappa who contested as an independent with the support of the opposition Congress and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S). The actor won by 106 votes to 94.

The ruling BJP has 106 members, including speaker, in the assembly while Congress-JD-S together have 97.

The poll was held to fill the vacancy created following the death of M. Rajashekara Murthy of the JD-S last December.

Hema Malini would be a member till April, 2012, when Murthy's term would have expired. She was a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha 2003-09.