Ahead of the Rajya Sabha elections, 8 Odisha Congress MLAs have been shifted to a resort in Karnataka due to the fear of ‘Operation Lotus’. Its purpose is to prevent cross-voting in the voting for the fourth seat.
Ramnagar: The fear of ‘Operation Lotus’ is troubling Congress before the Rajya Sabha elections. Due to this, 8 Congress MLAs from Odisha have been shifted to Wonderla Resort near Bidadi in Ramnagar, Karnataka. All these MLAs reached Bengaluru from Bhubaneswar on Thursday night under the leadership of Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhakta Charan Das. D.K. at Kempegowda International Airport at around 11 pm. Shivakumar’s close friends welcomed him.
From the airport, the MLAs were brought directly to Wonderla Resort with police protection and escort. It is being told that all of them have become MLAs for the first time. After reaching the resort, all the MLAs remained in their respective rooms and rested. In the evening, Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar met MLA H.C. Balakrishna and C.P. Reached the resort with Yogeshwar and met these MLAs and discussed the situation. According to the information, all of them will return to Bhubaneswar only at the time of voting.
fight to win the fourth seat
Elections are to be held on 37 Rajya Sabha seats in 10 states on March 16. MLAs in Odisha will elect 4 Rajya Sabha members. Of these, no party has a clear majority to win on the fourth seat. For this reason, the danger of cross-voting is looming in the politics of Odisha. There is talk that the ruling BJP may try to conduct cross-voting through ‘Operation Lotus’.
Fearing cross-voting by BJP leaders, Congress has shifted its MLAs to Karnataka, where it has its own government. 8 out of 14 Congress MLAs are staying at Wonderla Resort near Bidadi. His entire responsibility rests with Deputy CM D.K., who is known as the party’s ‘troubleshooter’. Has been handed over to Shivkumar.
BJD and Congress have joined hands for the fourth seat of Rajya Sabha and have fielded well-known kidney specialist Datteshwar Hota. At the same time, famous hotelier and former Union Minister Dilip Ray is contesting the elections as an independent candidate with the support of BJP. Both BJD and Congress fear that BJP may poach their MLAs.
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That is why Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das has brought 8 out of 14 MLAs of his party to the resort. The strategy and objective of Congress is that the opposition parties should not woo their MLAs. A candidate needs 30 votes to win in the Rajya Sabha elections. According to this, BJP can easily win two seats. At the same time, the independent candidate needs 11 more votes to win. For this reason, Congress fears that BJP may put strings on their MLAs. Due to this, the MLAs have been shifted to the resort to avoid cross-voting.
Some more MLAs are likely to arrive tonight. Local Congress leaders of Karnataka have arranged for vehicles at the airport to bring the MLAs. Due to the stay of the MLAs, tight police security has been deployed around the resort.
No fear of ‘Operation Lotus’: Balakrishna
Ramnagar: On this matter, MLA H.C. Balakrishna gave his response. He said, “We also go to resorts during elections. Similarly, MLAs from Odisha have come here. There is no fear of Operation Lotus in this. If there is a party, it is natural to have small differences. We will sort them out.” Speaking to reporters at Wonderla Resort, he said, “Our party MLAs have come to my constituency. It is my duty to welcome and respect them. That is why I have come here.”