Congress has edge in "tainted" Rajya Sabha Polls in Karnataka

BENGALURU: With the Election Commision of India expressing helplessness in stopping the Rajya Sabha polls in Karnataka on June 11 over allegations of corrupt practices, intense backroom operations are on, with just 24 hours to swing the votes of 14 independent MLAs and an estimated 5 JD(S) ones.

The election of Nirmala Sitharaman from BJP, Jairam Ramesh and Oscar Fernandes from Congress is clear, but there will be an election for the fourth seat. Sources in both the ruling Congress and the JD(S) admitted that the edge is with the former.. “The Congress is ruling and chief minister Siddaramaiah has more credibility than the H D Deve Gowda-Kumaraswamy combine. So though nothing has been promised in writing or given to anyone, the votes are likely to go to the third Congress candidate K C Ramamurthy,” a JD(S) leader told ET.

The JD(S) has put its MLAs in a hotel and legislature party president Kumaraswamy has issued a whip that all of them have to vote for their candidate B M Farook. Congress sources, however, said that five JD(S) MLAs, besides all independents, would vote for their candidate. “This is a conscience vote, so the whip does not have validity to disqualify the MLAs. Those supporting us will vote for us,” a senior Congress leader close to Siddaramaiah said.

Kumaraswamy, however, has not given up. He told ET: “They are the ruling party, but I am still trying to get my candidate elected.”

The EC, in its press release on Thursday night, pointed to a lack of concrete evidence of money exchange and said it did not have the powers to countermand the poll as demanded by the JD(S) and AAP on just suspicion of electoral malpractice. In a separate letter to the Centre, the EC is said to have sought an amendment to the Representation of People’s Act, to empower it to act in this situation.

The EC referred to the clarification issued by Siddaramaiah’s principal secretary L K Atheeq that no out-of-turn developmental projects had been sanctioned to the constituencies of independent MLAs in return for their votes. The MLAs and the Rajya Sabha candidates from Congress and JD(S) were caught on a sting by two TV channels stating that the CM had promised about Rs 100 crore towards the constituencies.

The EC, however, has taken note of JD(S) MLA from Basavakalyan in Bidar district, Mallikarjun Sidramappa Khuba, whom it has erroneously identified as an independent. Khuba was caught on camera speaking of a personal demand of Rs 5 crore for his vote. The EC has directed the returning officer for the elections, Karnataka legislative assembly secretary S Murthy to file an FIR against Khuba and some unspecified “others” under the Prevention of Corruption Act and sought a CBI probe into the corruption allegations.

Khuba denied malpractice and Kumaraswamy said no action would be taken against him. JD(S) sources said that Khuba would toe the party line and vote for their candidate B M Farook in the poll, where all MLAs, except independents, have to show the ballot to the electoral agent.