Amid fears of cross-voting in the upcoming Rajya Sabha election in Odisha, the Congress party has shifted its MLAs to Bengaluru in a move widely seen as part of “resort politics” to keep its legislators together.
Congress sources confirmed on Friday that the legislators were brought to Bengaluru under the supervision of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President D.K. Shivakumar. The MLAs and party leaders arrived in the city from Bhubaneswar on Thursday night on an IndiGo flight.
They reached the Kempegowda International Airport at around 11 p.m., where they were received by close aides of Shivakumar. From the airport, the legislators were escorted under police security directly to a resort in Bidadi in Ramanagara district.
The MLAs have been accommodated at the Wonderla Resort, where special arrangements have been made for their stay.
According to sources, the group includes MLAs Mangu Khila, Appala Swamy, Rajan Ekka and Ashok Kumar. The party’s Odisha chief and former MP Bhakta Charan Das and spokesperson Durga Prasad Panda are also part of the delegation. In total, around 14 Congress leaders from Odisha have reportedly arrived in Bengaluru.
Congress sources said the decision to move the MLAs out of Odisha was taken amid concerns over possible cross-voting during the Rajya Sabha election. The move is also aimed at countering what the party alleges to be the BJP’s attempts at ‘Operation Lotus’.
In the 147-member Odisha Legislative Assembly, the BJP currently has the support of 79 MLAs, while the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) holds 50 seats and the Congress has 14 MLAs.
The BJD has nominated Santanu Mishra as its official candidate and has also fielded Datteshwar Hota as a general candidate for the fourth Rajya Sabha seat, with the Congress extending support to his candidature.
The BJP, on the other hand, has fielded two candidates and has also backed Independent candidate Dilip Ray.
Congress sources said the contest for the fourth seat could hinge on cross-voting. While Datteshwar Hota’s victory will depend on the support of Congress MLAs, Independent candidate Dilip Ray would require the backing of at least eight MLAs from rival camps to secure a win.
It can be recalled that Deputy CM Shivakumar had earlier moved MLAs from Maharashtra and Gujarat to a resort on the outskirts of Bengaluru amid fears of cross-voting.
