With the race for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka getting intense, money power is allegedly at play. Two TV channels on Thursday came out with sting operations showing MlAs engaged in demanding money in lieu of their support for the Rajya Sabha candidates.
Times Now and India Today news channels showed some independent MlAs, their counterparts from smaller parties besides former Prime Minister and JD(S) chief Deve Gowda’s relatives and associates involved in discussing the amounts on offer for them for their support to Rajya Sabha candidates.
The Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka heated up after five candidates entered the fray for the total four seats from the State. While Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Congress leaders Oscar Fernadez and Jairam Ramesh are considered as sure winners, the fight for the fourth
seat intensified after the Congress fielded former IPS officer Ramamoorthy and
the JD(S) fielded businessman BM Farooq.
As Farooq and Ramamoorthy don’t have sufficient party votes to win, the votes of the independents and smaller parties’ MlAs are badly needed. Cross voting between the Congress and the JD(S) MlAs too isn’t being ruled out.
Though no money exchange was videographed, independent MlA like Varathoor Prakash, JD(S) MlA Mallikarjun Khuba, KJP MlA BR Patil were seen discussing the amount to be paid by
the Rajya Sabha candidate for their support.
They talked about how the current price tag of each MlA ranged between Rs 5 crore and Rs 10 crore. JD(S) candidate BM Farooq was also seen in a sting video talking about the huge expenses for the victory.
In the JD(S), some MlAs are unhappy over the denial of ticket to party leader Danish Ali and Deve Gowda allotting the seat to businessman Farooq.