Bhubaneswar, March 15: Political tensions are rising in Odisha as the Rajya Sabha elections approach. On Sunday, the opposition party Congress leveled serious allegations against the BJP and independent candidate Dilip Rai. Congress accused Rai of attempting to lure Congress legislators, who were staying at a resort in Bengaluru, with financial incentives ahead of the elections.
The party claimed that four individuals from Rourkela arrived at a hotel in Bengaluru on Saturday afternoon and tried to establish contact with Odisha Congress legislators and leaders staying there. Senior Congress leader and MP Saptagiri Ulaka stated that the suspicious individuals have been handed over to the police.
Ulaka alleged that they came with empty checks and an offer of ₹5 crore for each legislator. He also claimed that during police questioning, the name of independent candidate Dilip Rai emerged. “We suspect that not only Rai but also Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is involved in this legislative horse-trading,” he said.
He added that they have filed an FIR stating that there was an attempt to buy their legislators through financial inducements. They also reported threats against their legislators, stating that they would not be allowed to return to Odisha and that attempts were made to abduct them. “This is extremely unfortunate. There is no place for horse-trading in politics. If anything happens to our legislators, Chief Minister Majhi will be held responsible,” he warned.
Meanwhile, senior Congress leader and AICC Odisha in-charge Ajay Lallu criticized the BJP for supporting Dilip Rai as an independent candidate in the Rajya Sabha elections. Addressing a press conference in Bhubaneswar, Lallu alleged that despite having only 22 legislators in the assembly, the BJP has fielded a fourth candidate, indicating an attempt to win seats through horse-trading.
He also questioned Rai’s candidacy, noting that the former Union minister had previously been convicted in a coal block allocation case.
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