Bengaluru: Deputy chief minister DK Shivakumar has stirred a controversy by alleging that JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy is attempting to buy votes from Congress MLAs for the upcoming Rajya Sabha elections, scheduled for February 27.
Shivakumar, who also serves as the KPCC chief, made these claims at a press conference on Monday. “We know whom Kumaraswamy is making phone calls to, what he is speaking and what offers he is making.Our MLAs have given us all the information. We are aware of BJP’s strategy,” he alleged.
Responding to queries about potential cross-voting, Shivakumar said, “The BJP-JD(S) alliance’s move to field a second candidate, despite having sufficient support for only one out of the four available seats shows what they are up to. Let us see who votes for whom on Feb 27 (the voting day).” When asked about the Congress’s strategy to secure opposition votes, Shivakumar confidently stated, “We don’t need it. We have won 136 seats (in the assembly) and two Independent MLAs have identified themselves with us. I will not talk about others who are with us. We will demonstrate it and then we will talk.”
With Congress holding a majority of 135 MLAs in the 224-member assembly, along with the support of Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and two Independents, the party is expected to secure three out of the four RS seats. The BJP, with 66 members, and JD(S), with 19 members, are in a position to jointly clinch one seat.
Congress has nominated Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, and GC Chandrasekhar as its candidates, while former MLC Narayansa Bandage represents BJP. In an unexpected turn, JD(S) leader and former Rajya Sabha member D Kupendra Reddy also filed a nomination last week, setting the stage for a contest.
Shivakumar, who also serves as the KPCC chief, made these claims at a press conference on Monday. “We know whom Kumaraswamy is making phone calls to, what he is speaking and what offers he is making.Our MLAs have given us all the information. We are aware of BJP’s strategy,” he alleged.
Responding to queries about potential cross-voting, Shivakumar said, “The BJP-JD(S) alliance’s move to field a second candidate, despite having sufficient support for only one out of the four available seats shows what they are up to. Let us see who votes for whom on Feb 27 (the voting day).” When asked about the Congress’s strategy to secure opposition votes, Shivakumar confidently stated, “We don’t need it. We have won 136 seats (in the assembly) and two Independent MLAs have identified themselves with us. I will not talk about others who are with us. We will demonstrate it and then we will talk.”
With Congress holding a majority of 135 MLAs in the 224-member assembly, along with the support of Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and two Independents, the party is expected to secure three out of the four RS seats. The BJP, with 66 members, and JD(S), with 19 members, are in a position to jointly clinch one seat.
Congress has nominated Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain, and GC Chandrasekhar as its candidates, while former MLC Narayansa Bandage represents BJP. In an unexpected turn, JD(S) leader and former Rajya Sabha member D Kupendra Reddy also filed a nomination last week, setting the stage for a contest.