‘Horses are ready to get traded...’: BJP alleges 'horse trading' within ruling Congress in Karnataka

Hubballi (Karnataka):  Amid allegations from the Congress that the BJP is plotting to topple the Karnataka government by targeting its MLAs, Union Minister Pralhad Joshi on Sunday dismissed the claims and countered that "horse trading" is actually happening within the ruling party.

The political row erupted after Congress MLA from Hungund, Vijayanand Kashappanavar, on Saturday, alleged that the BJP had drawn up a list of 55 Congress legislators to pressure them using central agencies like the ED and CBI if they refused to switch sides.

"Has he (Kashappanavar) done anything (wrong) to come on the ED list? Those who have done wrong will come under ED's notice, not others. Those who are correct need not worry, and they won't face any trouble. This claim about 55 MLAs is a conspiracy to divert issues," Joshi told reporters. 

Meanwhile, Joshi alleged that CM Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar had begun horse trading among the Congress MLAs to garner support.

"Siddaramaiah had recently said that Shivakumar doesn't have the support of many MLAs, so both of them, to garner support on their respective sides, are using their money power. Both of them, who are ready to buy MLAs, are strong there (in Congress), so there is no chance for us (BJP) to enter, and we don't want to indulge in such things," he said.

Joshi said the Congress has been given a mandate to govern for five years, but due to internal rifts and instability, the party is struggling to stay united. As a result, he alleged, they are pushing their MLAs to make baseless claims about the BJP targeting 55 legislators.

"Horses are ready to get traded in the market there (in Congress). There is competition within to buy…The Congress high command has lost control, so they have reached a situation where whoever has the support of the maximum MLAs will be the CM. So both of them are involved in trading," Joshi said.

"We (BJP) are nowhere involved or related to it. False allegations are being made against us," he added.

Speculation has been rife within political circles—particularly in the ruling Congress—about a possible change in Karnataka's chief minister later this year, amid talk of a power-sharing arrangement between Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM D.K. Shivakumar.

While Siddaramaiah has repeatedly maintained that he will serve the full five-year term, Shivakumar's supporters continue to assert that their leader will eventually take over as chief minister. PTI