Fear over cross-voting in RS elections: Congress shifts nine Odisha MLAs to Bengaluru
BHUBANESWAR: Amid fears of cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16, the Congress has moved several of its Odisha legislators to Bengaluru, where they are currently staying at a resort on the outskirts of the Karnataka capital.
Sources said nine of the party’s 14 MLAs, accompanied by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) president Bhakta Charan Das, took an evening flight to Bengaluru on Thursday.
About eight MLAs from Bhubaneswar landed at Kempegowda International Airport late on Thursday evening, while six others arrived on Friday morning. The legislators have been accommodated at Wonderla Resort in Bidadi on the outskirts of the city.
However, five MLAs did not accompany the OPCC president to Bengaluru. They include Congress Legislature Party leader Ramachandra Kadam, senior MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati, Cuttack Barabati MLA Sofia Firdous, Gunupur MLA Satyajeet Gomango and Sanakhemundi MLA Ramesh Chandra Jena.
Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and KPCC president D K Shivakumar hosted the MLAs after Das reportedly contacted him seeking arrangements for their stay.
Shivakumar, however, denied that the Congress high command had assigned him the responsibility of sheltering the Odisha legislators and said the OPCC chief had approached him as Bengaluru was considered a safe location.
Speaking to reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence, he said, “I don’t know why they have come. The Odisha PCC President called me and told me they are coming to Bengaluru. It must be a party thing. I will go and meet them. When they said they are coming, I said they can come. They wanted a comfortable place and we arranged.” He was replying to a question on whether he had brought the Odisha Congress MLAs to Bengaluru.
Asked if the party had tasked him with preventing cross voting in the Rajya Sabha elections, he said, “I have to do what the party tells me to do. This happens in all states, it isn’t new. They wanted to meet me, I told them I would visit them after the session.”
Asked if the move was aimed at preventing ‘Operation Lotus’, he said, “I don’t know about that. They said they wanted to come to Bengaluru because it is safe. I haven’t met them. When the PCC President told me about this, I said yes. It is our duty to take care of them. I have been doing this since the days of Vilas Rao Deshmukh government in Maharashtra. I have done it on many occasions including for Ahmed Patel’s RS election.”
A senior Congress leader said the MLAs were shifted to Bengaluru to avoid alleged poaching attempts by BJP backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray.
Das had reportedly held a meeting with several MLAs earlier in the day before deciding to move them to a Congress ruled state where they could not be easily approached by rival camps.
The MLAs are expected to return to Bhubaneswar on the day of the election. They are also likely to meet Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge in Bengaluru depending on his availability.
The Congress has extended support to the second BJD candidate Dr Datteswar Hota. Though the BJD and Congress together have the numbers to secure the second seat, the entry of Ray has revived memories of the 2002 election when he won following cross voting by a dozen Congress and BJD MLAs.
Earlier, the Congress had issued a three line whip asking its legislators to remain present in Bhubaneswar until March 16 for the Rajya Sabha elections.
Meanwhile, fears of cross voting have also surfaced within the BJD camp. A day after her husband, former Balasore MP Rabindra Kumar Jena, joined the BJP, BJD MLA from Basta Subasini Jena met party president Naveen Patnaik along with Opposition chief whip Pramila Mallik.
The meeting assumed significance as Naveen accused the BJP of resorting to horse trading to win the Rajya Sabha elections following Jena’s switch to the saffron party. Subasini was called to Naveen Niwas amid uncertainties over her loyalty.
Her statement on Wednesday that time would reveal her choice in the Rajya Sabha elections had added to the discomfort within the BJD.
Though she softened her stand on Thursday by stating that she continued to be with the BJD and considered Naveen Patnaik her leader, sources said the party leadership remained unsure about the evolving situation.