During the biennial elections to the Rajya Sabha on June 10, BJP herded its MLAs in Maharashtra in Taj Hotel, Mumbai. The NCP put up its MLAs in Hotel Blue Sea, Congress in Hotel West End and the Shiv Sena in Hotel Retreat. In Karnataka a JD(S) MLA voted for the Congress and in Rajasthan the BJP expelled legislator Shobha Rani Kushwaha after cross voting. Businessman and media baron Subhash Chandra, backed by the BJP, who boasted that eight Congress MLAs would vote for him, lost. Another media baron backed by BJP, Kartikeya Sharma, however, won from Haryana.
Rajya Sabha elections are increasingly marked by allegations of horse trading, resort politics, cash for votes and more businessmen joining the fray ‘to serve the people’. Open ballot, second and third preference votes etc. also make it a more complicated election with the Returning Officer declaring votes invalid in Haryana eight years ago because of the use of a different pen. Despite CCTV footage, disputes in Maharashtra delayed results by over five hours. The process needs a second look. Naheed Ataulla from Bengaluru reports on the trend in Karnataka.
A CD had surfaced in Karnataka 2014, in which former chief minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was purportedly heard saying that JD(S) MLAs were demanding one crore rupees each to vote for party nominees to the Legislative Council. The conversation allegedly took place between Kumaraswamy and supporters of an aspirant Vijugoud Patil. It seemed to confirm swirling suspicion that even for elections to the upper house of the legislature, money was an important consideration.
