- 5 crore offer each to Congress MLAs
- The attempt to break Congress MLAs failed
- Five persons in police custody for luring MLAs with money
Operation Lotus: Voting for the Rajya Sabha elections will be held today (March 16). Meanwhile, a major political debate has been sparked. Five people have been arrested in Bangalore. The five arrested persons are alleged to have offered five crores each to eight Congress MLAs from Odisha to vote for the BJP. The political atmosphere has become extremely heated in the run-up to the Rajya Sabha elections in Odisha.
The sensational claim that a bribe of Rs 5 crore each was offered to break the Congress MLAs was made by Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das. An FIR has been filed in Bengaluru in this case and four suspects have been named.
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Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar said that five people tried to offer five crores each to eight Odisha MLAs in a hotel to cross-vote. Five persons were arrested after the FIR was lodged in this regard. But BJP has rejected this allegation. BJP spokesperson Anil Biswal has claimed that they are being falsely accused by the Congress as the Congress is on the verge of defeat.
Rajya Sabha Election Equations
Eight of Odisha’s 14 Congress MLAs were shifted to a resort in Bengaluru on Thursday to avoid defection. Five candidates are contesting for four Rajya Sabha seats in Odisha. BJP has re-nominated state president Manmohan Samal and former Rajya Sabha MP Sujit Kumar. Moreover, BJP has supported independent candidate Dilip Rai for the third seat. BJD has fielded Santrut Mishra, while the party is supporting independent candidate Dutteshwar Hota with the support of Congress and CPM.
Due to the strong numerical strength of the BJP Grand Alliance, BJP’s Samal and Kumar as well as BJD’s Mishra are expected to win easily. The real fight is for the fourth seat, where allegations of cross-voting and horse-trading are expected to lead to a tight fight between Hota and Rai.
What happened at Bangalore Hotel?
Koraput MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka said the four – Virendra Prasad, Suresh, Ajit Sahu and Simanchal Mahakud – were staying in the same hotel with Congress MLAs. All the four had come from Rourkela in Odisha and stayed there on Saturday night. He had tried to pay Rs 5 crore each to the MLAs. Blank checks were seized from them. When questioned by the Karnataka police, they took the name of BJP-backed independent candidate Dilip Rai.
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Ulaka alleged, “Rai is the owner of the hotel. During the investigation, the name of a person named Jaiswal, who is said to be close to Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, also surfaced. Demanding a proper probe into the matter, Congress MPs alleged that the four had threatened Congress MLAs.”
Congress Legislature Party Deputy Leader in Odisha Ashok Kumar Das said that for the security of our MLAs, eight of our MLAs have come to Bengaluru and are staying here since March 12. The move was taken after the ruling BJP in Odisha fielded additional candidates to try to influence MLAs.
What exactly is the case?
It was feared that the Congress MLAs were being pressured to vote in favor of the BJP candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections. Therefore, as a precaution, the Congress kept its 8 MLAs in a resort in Bengaluru. D.K. Shivakumar said that some persons contacted MLAs through online and offered Rs 5 crore in exchange for votes. It is also alleged that MLAs were threatened after rejecting this offer. Congress has lodged a police complaint against Birendra Prasad, Suresh, Ajit Kumar Sahu and Simchal Mohkud in this case and has demanded action.
Why fear the horse market?
Even though the strength of the BJP in the Odisha Legislative Assembly is limited, there is a possibility of ‘cross voting’ as they field additional candidates. Against this backdrop, Congress had moved its MLAs to a safer place. The Congress MLAs who are camping in Bengaluru have left for Bhubaneswar on Sunday night. All these MLAs will participate in voting for the Rajya Sabha elections on Monday morning. Due to this political conflict, the entire country is focused on the result in Odisha.
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