'Horse trading' in Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls: I have voted for Congress because...., claims JD(S) MLA

Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JDS MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party.

Image courtesy: ANI video

Bengaluru: Janata Dal (Secular) chief HD Kumaraswamy on Friday (June 10) appears to have failed to keep his MLAs together as one of the legislators from his party, K Srinivasa Gowda, said that he voted in favour of Congress as the polling for the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka is underway. 

After casting his vote, Gowda said, "I have voted for Congress.. because I love it."

#WATCH | I have voted for Congress because I love it: K Srinivasa Gowda, Karnataka JD(S) leader on Rajya Sabha elections pic.twitter.com/oMSkdlYSuQ — ANI (@ANI) June 10, 2022

Earlier, Kumaraswamy alleged "horse-trading" in the Karnataka Rajya Sabha elections claiming that Congress leader Siddaramaiah was pressurising JDS MLAs to not vote for their own party but that of the candidate of the grand old party. "Yes, definitely. He is pressurising them not to vote for JD(S)," Kumaraswamy told media persons on being asked about Siddaramaiah`s claims that some JD(S) MLAs were in touch with him.

The former Karnataka chief minister also pointed out that Siddaramaiah had refuted allegations of writing an open letter to JDS MLAs requesting them to cast their "conscience vote" in favour of his party`s candidate. "Today, before local media he (Siddaramaiah) has said that he didn`t write to my MLAs. He had even tweeted the letter from his social media account. Now, he`s denying what he said yesterday. This shows his double standards," ANI quoted the JD(S) leader as saying.

Kumaraswamy alleged that BJP general secretary CT Ravi was spotted entering the Congress office in Karnataka, adding "CT Ravi is BJP general secretary, so how did he enter Congress office? This shows that CT Ravi went to meet Siddaramaiah for his cooperation in the victory of the BJP candidate."

The former Karnataka earlier exuded confidence that JD(S) already has 30-31 votes in the Rajya Sabha elections, adding "We have confidence that we have 30-31 votes. JD(S) K Srinivasa Gowda has expressed that he will vote for Congress. Now, let us see."

JD(S) has fielded entrepreneur and social worker Kupendra Reddy as its first candidate in the Rajya Sabha election, while the Congress had fielded Mansoor Ali Khan as its second candidate to corner the JD(S) and its bid to send Kupendra Reddy to the Rajya Sabha.

A day ahead of the polling on Thursday, Kumaraswamy urged Congress to give its second preferential votes to JDS, if it really wanted to defeat BJP. Notably, six candidates are in the fray for four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka.

(With Agency Inputs)