Bhubaneswar: Ahead of the March 16 Rajya Sabha polls, eight Congress MLAs from Odisha have been moved to Bengaluru and lodged at a resort amid concerns that the ruling BJP in the state may attempt to poach them.
The MLAs arrived in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, on Thursday night along with their families. They were taken to a resort in Bidadi in Bengaluru South district. Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar supervised the arrangements, according to media reports. Shivakumar is considered politically influential in the Bidadi region.
The MLAs were sent to Bengaluru by Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee President Bhakta Charan Das. Local authorities identified five of them as Mangu Khilla, Pabitra Saunta, Kadraka Appala Swamy, Rajan Ekka, and Prafulla Pradhan.
In the 147-member Odisha Assembly, the BJP holds a majority with 79 MLAs. The party is expected to send three members to the Rajya Sabha, possibly with support from Independents and cross-voting.
The BJD, which has 48 MLAs, can currently secure one Rajya Sabha seat. However, the party is attempting to win a second seat by aligning with Congress, which has 14 MLAs, along with the support of one CPI(M) legislator and three Independents.
