Odisha Congress has announced it will report alleged attempts to bribe its MLAs in Karnataka ahead of Rajya Sabha elections to the Election Commission. The party suspended three MLAs who voted against the party whip. OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das stated that alert MLAs foiled the bid.
Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) stated on Wednesday that it would pursue to a logical conclusion the alleged attempts to bribe its MLAs at a resort in Karnataka ahead of Rajya Sabha elections. OPCC president Bhakta Charan Das said Karnataka police had arrested four persons from the resort where Congress MLAs were staying. He noted, “Their activities were suspicious. Prima facie evidence suggests that they were sent to the hotel to bribe our MLAs. However, alert MLAs foiled their bid.” Das added that the party would approach the Election Commission of India seeking intervention. He suspected that large amounts of money had changed hands in the recent Rajya Sabha election, enabling an independent candidate to win despite lacking numerical strength in the Odisha Legislative Assembly. Former Chief Minister and BJD leader Naveen Patnaik had posted on X on March 16 that four individuals were arrested in Bengaluru for allegedly trying to hand blank cheques to MLAs to buy votes for BJP-supported Rajya Sabha candidates. He called it “major proof” of BJP's horse-trading activities. In the March 16 Rajya Sabha election, BJP-backed candidates Manmohan Samal, Sujeet Kumar and Dilip Ray were elected, along with BJD's Santrupta Mishra. Dr. Datteswar Hota, backed by BJD, Congress and CPI(M), lost after 11 MLAs (eight BJD and three Congress) voted against their party whips. Congress suspended Ramesh Jena, Dasarathi Gamango and Sofia Firdous, threatening disqualification. BJD issued show-cause notices to six MLAs who voted for Dilip Ray and had suspended two before the polls.
