Rajya Sabha polls: 8 Odisha MLAs camp at Bidadi resort

Bengaluru: Eight first-time Congress lawmakers from Odisha, fearful of being poached ahead of the March 16 Rajya Sabha election, are camping at a resort in Bidadi under the supervision of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar.

“These MLAs are being made big offers to defect,” Shivakumar, who is also the Karnataka Congress president, told reporters after meeting the Odisha MLAs.

Shivakumar has earlier safeguarded Congress lawmakers from Maharashtra (2002) to help then chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, and from Gujarat (2017) to ensure Ahmed Patel’s election to Rajya Sabha.

“I was informed by my Odisha counterpart that MLAs are coming. I said they can come. We've made arrangements for their stay,” Shivakumar said. “I must do what the party says.”

Congress and the BJD have jointly fielded urologist Dr Datteswar Hota for the Rajya Sabha election. He needs 30 votes to win. Congress (14), BJD (18) and CPIM (1) have 32 votes.

“This is a common issue in politics. It’s our duty to help them (MLAs). There are fears of horse-trading. BJP is known for horse-trading. We don’t want that to happen,” Shivakumar said.

According to Shivakumar’s office, the Odisha MLAs staying at the Bidadi resort are Rajan Ekka, Ashok Das, Kadraka Appala Swamy, Mangu Killo, Pavitra Sauntha, Nilamadhav Hikka, Prafulla Pradhan and Sathyajit Gomongo.