HD Kumaraswamy making offers for RS elections, threatening MLAs to buy votes, alleges DK Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Feb 19: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Monday claimed he has information' that JD (S) leader H D Kumaraswamy was making offers to Congress MLAs to buy their votes for the February 27 Rajya Sabha elections in the state.
The Rajya Sabha election scene in Karnataka has heated up with the BJP-JD(S) combine fielding its second candidate, even though the alliance has the strength to win only one out of the four seats which go to polls.
Speaking to reporters here, Shivakumar, also the Congress Karnataka unit chief, said: "We know whom H D Kumaraswamy is making phone calls to, what he is speaking and what offers he is making. Our MLAs have given us all the information. We are aware of BJP's strategy."
Asked if the Opposition parties are trying for cross voting, he said, "Have they (BJP) fielded the candidate without any reason? They fielded the candidate to make their efforts. Let us see who votes for whom on February 27 (the voting day)."
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"He (Kumaraswamy) has spoken, made offers (to Congress MLAs), they (MLAs) came and told me. He had threatened them. I am aware of it. I will not speak on it now," Shivakumar said.
JD(S) headed by former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda joined the BJP-led NDA last year.
The ruling Congress, which has 135 MLAs in the 224 member Assembly, with the support of Darshan Puttanaiah from Sarvodaya Karnataka Paksha and two Independents is expected to retain three seats out of the four RS seats.
The BJP and JD(S) with 66 and 19 members, respectively, are in a position to jointly win one seat in the elections, in which MLAs will vote.
The Congress has fielded Ajay Maken, Syed Naseer Hussain and G C Chandrasekhar. Former MLC Narayansa Bandage is the BJP candidate.
In a surprise move, JD(S) leader and former Rajya Sabha Member D Kupendra Reddy too filed a nomination last week, forcing a contest.
According to official sources, each candidate has to get 45 votes to win if there are only four candidates in the fray. In case there are more candidates, then preference votes will kick in.
Asked if Congress was working on a counter strategy to secure opposition votes for elections, Shivakumar said, "We don't need it. We have won 136 seats (in the assembly) and two Independent MLAs have identified themselves with us. I will not talk about others who are with us. We will demonstrate it and then we will talk."
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
