JD(S) tries to regroup MLAs amid cross-voting fears

JD(S) legislature party leader H D Kumaraswamy asked all his MLAs to regroup at a hotel in Bengaluru on Thursday night even as he admitted that some of them have differences with him, which could have a bearing on Friday's Rajya Sabha election.

Of the four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, the BJP can win two, the Congress one and the JD(S) none. Still, all three parties have fielded a candidate for the fourth seat - Lahar Singh Siroya (BJP), Mansoor Ali Khan (Congress) and D Kupendra Reddy (JDS).

The JD(S) MLAs' vote will determine the outcome of the fourth Rajya Sabha seat.

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The JD(S) is wary of four MLAs - GT Deve Gowda (Chamundeshwari), SR Srinivas (Gubbi), K Srinivas Gowda (Kolar) and KM Shivalinge Gowda (Arsikere) - who are said to be upset with the party's leadership, especially Kumaraswamy's style of functioning.

Another MLA DC Gowrishankar (Tumkur Rural), who went to Dubai with family, said he would reach Bengaluru on Thursday night and cast his vote on Friday.

"I am in touch with the MLAs," Kumaraswamy said. "We need to send a message. Congress is spreading propaganda that they are in touch with 10-20 MLAs and that 10 will cross-vote. To make sure no one falls prey to this, I've asked my MLAs to gather in one place," he said.

The former chief minister said he was not bothered about cross-voting or conscience voting. "There may be differences that our MLAs have with me. I'm openly reaching out to them. They may or may not contest the next election from our party, but for now, they are with the JD(S). So, they should vote for our candidate," Kumaraswamy said.

The JD(S) leader also revealed that he had requested some "friends" in other parties to cast second-preference votes in Reddy's favour.

"The Congress will not win even if it manages cross-voting. All that they can achieve in this election is help the BJP win and JD(S) lose. This election will reveal who the BJP's real 'B' team is," Kumaraswamy said.

Although the JD(S) has issued a whip to all its MLAs, Kumaraswamy said any defiance will not attract a penalty. "In 2016, when eight MLAs betrayed us, was any action taken? Disqualification is just namesake," he said, referring to eight JD(S) MLAs, including Zameer Ahmed Khan, voting against the party's official candidate BM Farooq.