BENGALURU: Karnataka is Congress’s choice of sanctuary for prospective party MLAs from Rajasthan and Telangana as the spectre of a hung verdict looms over both states, bringing resort politics back into the game. If needed, Congress will also herd its MLAs from MP and Chhattisgarh into the southern state, sources said.
The Congress leadership is believed to have asked deputy CM and PCC chief D K Shivakumara past master at troubleshooting, to do whatever it takes to preempt poaching of MLAs from Rajasthan and Telangana by rivals BJP and BRS once the poll results are declared on Sunday.
Shivakumar and the state unit have been asked to identify “at least 2-3 resorts or star hotels” to house these MLAs, and also be prepared to provide additional accommodation should the same script play out in MP and Chhattisgarh, sources said.
“Based on a preliminary reading of the situation, if Congress wins 70 of the 119 seats in Telangana, there will be no need to keep our MLAs safe. But if our tally is below 70, then MLAs will be brought to Bengaluru,” a Congress legislator said.
The Rajasthan vote count could produce a thriller, with the battle between Congress and BJP likely to be much closer than predicted by various exit polls.
Shivakumar said he would “abide by” whatever the high command and the party require of him. “I do not believe the exit poll results count for much because of the small sample size used by media houses. Congress is comfortably ahead in all five states (that have gone to polls) but we have to work in accordance with the party’s directives.”With Karnataka being the only large state in the country that is currently governed by Congress, the party believes Shivakumar can be trusted to keep its flock together, sources said.
Shivakumar had his share of limelight when he forged an alliance with JD(S) in 2019 and kept the Congress MLAs together amid alleged poaching attempts by former CM B S Yediyurappa after the polls threw up a hung assembly.
In late 2019, he was entrusted with the task of herding Congress MLAs from Gujarat into a Karnataka resort to ensure they didn’t cross-vote in the Rajya Sabha election in which Ahmed Patel, a confidant of former AICC president Sonia Gandhi, was the party’s candidate.
In both instances, Shivakumar asked his brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh and their cousin, MLC D K Ravi, to identify places in their native Ramanagara district of southern Karnataka to keep the legislators.
The Congress leadership is believed to have asked deputy CM and PCC chief D K Shivakumara past master at troubleshooting, to do whatever it takes to preempt poaching of MLAs from Rajasthan and Telangana by rivals BJP and BRS once the poll results are declared on Sunday.
Shivakumar and the state unit have been asked to identify “at least 2-3 resorts or star hotels” to house these MLAs, and also be prepared to provide additional accommodation should the same script play out in MP and Chhattisgarh, sources said.
“Based on a preliminary reading of the situation, if Congress wins 70 of the 119 seats in Telangana, there will be no need to keep our MLAs safe. But if our tally is below 70, then MLAs will be brought to Bengaluru,” a Congress legislator said.
The Rajasthan vote count could produce a thriller, with the battle between Congress and BJP likely to be much closer than predicted by various exit polls.
Shivakumar said he would “abide by” whatever the high command and the party require of him. “I do not believe the exit poll results count for much because of the small sample size used by media houses. Congress is comfortably ahead in all five states (that have gone to polls) but we have to work in accordance with the party’s directives.”With Karnataka being the only large state in the country that is currently governed by Congress, the party believes Shivakumar can be trusted to keep its flock together, sources said.
Shivakumar had his share of limelight when he forged an alliance with JD(S) in 2019 and kept the Congress MLAs together amid alleged poaching attempts by former CM B S Yediyurappa after the polls threw up a hung assembly.
In late 2019, he was entrusted with the task of herding Congress MLAs from Gujarat into a Karnataka resort to ensure they didn’t cross-vote in the Rajya Sabha election in which Ahmed Patel, a confidant of former AICC president Sonia Gandhi, was the party’s candidate.
In both instances, Shivakumar asked his brother and Bengaluru Rural MP D K Suresh and their cousin, MLC D K Ravi, to identify places in their native Ramanagara district of southern Karnataka to keep the legislators.