Cops foil ‘BJP bid’ to poach BRS MLAs with cash, contracts; 3 detained
The defection politics of Telangana took a murkier turn on Wednesday when Cyberabad police scuttled an attempt by alleged BJP middlemen to lure four BRS (previously TRS) MLAs with a Rs 100-crore bribe and central government contracts into the saffron party.
Poaching seems to be the main strategy of the leaders of all parties in the Munugode byelection scheduled on November 3. Against this backdrop, the arrest of BJP middlemen with an unknown amount of cash has come in handy for the Bharat Rashtra Samithi (previously Telangana Rashtra Samithi) to demoralize the BJP camp in Munugode.
Another note-for-vote trap?
The incident is reminiscent of Revanth Reddy’s note-for-vote trap in 2015. On May 31, 2015, the Telangana Anti-Corruption Bureau caught on camera Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MLC and floor leader, Anumula Revanth Reddy, offering Rs 50 lakh to Anglo-Indian MLA Elvis Stephenson. It was reportedly an advance payment in a Rs 5-crore deal to secure his vote in favour of TDP nominee Vem Narender Reddy in the Telangana Legislative Council election.
Also read: In Munugode by-poll, the bet is not on who will win, but the next defector
Immediately, the clips appeared on V6 and TV9, two popular news channels, creating a political storm that tarnished the image of TDP supremo and then Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
The conversation between Reddy and Stephenson hinted at Naidu, though his name was not taken. Popularly known as the “note for vote trap,” it finally led Naidu to shift his capital from Hyderabad to Amaravati the next year even amid protests from employees.
Key bypolls around the corner
In a late-night swoop on Wednesday, Telangana Police took into custody three members connected to BJP who purportedly tried to bribe four BRS MLAs into quitting the party. The MLAs who were offered bribes are Guvvala Balaraju (Acchampet), Harshavardhan Reddy (Kollapur), Pilot Rohit Reddy (Tandur), and Rega Kantha Rao (Pinapaka).
While the 2015 incident took place a couple of hours before polling, the present incident came to light when the campaign for the Munugode byelection is at its peak. It is seen as a counter-offensive by Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao against the BJP, which of late has become a destiny of disillusioned leaders in the BRS.
Also read: Telangana Munugode bypoll: As parties open money tap, voters seek ‘cut’
Those who allegedly worked on behalf of the BJP were Ramachandra Bharti alias Satish Sharma, a native of Delhi, Nandakumar of Hyderabad, and D Simhayaji of Tirupati. Based on the complaint lodged by Rohit Reddy, a case (No 455/2022) has been booked under sections 120-B, 171-B r/w 171-E 506 r/w 34 IPC and Section 8 of the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988. According to the police, the investigation has been entrusted to ACP Rajendrangar, Hyderabad.
Bribe of cash, contracts, and post
According to the complaint Rohit Reddy has lodged with the police, Bharati, Simhayaji, and Nandakumar had offered him Rs 100 crore to resign from the BRS and contest the next election on behalf of the saffron party.
While Bharati runs an ashram in Uttarkashi, Simhayaji has ashrams in Kadapa and Tirupati. Nandakumar is a Hyderabad-based businessman and owns a hotel that was inaugurated by Union minister Kishan Reddy sometime back.
Also read: KCR’s TRS turns BRS: Masterstroke or misadventure?
The complaint said they offered him cash, along with central government civil contracts and other “high central government positions” for monetary benefit. They allegedly also threatened him that if he did not join the BJP, there would be criminal cases and raids by ED/CBI, and they would topple the Telangana government led by the BRS.
MLAs “trick BJP men”
According to the complaint, Rohit Reddy had already informed the police that they would be coming to his farmhouse at Aziz Nagar, Moinabad, for negotiations in the afternoon. They had also allegedly asked him to mobilize a few more BRS MLAs, who would be offered Rs 50 crore each to join the BJP.
According to BRS sources, Rohit Reddy tricked them. When they were negotiating the deal, the police entered the farmhouse and took the “BJP men” into custody. Cyberabad Police Commissioner Stephen Ravindra confirmed that the police had acted after BRS MLAs alerted them about the alleged attempt by BJP representatives to bribe them to defect to that party.
Also read: TDP looks to edge into Telangana as KCR opens gates to go national
“Following a tip-off by the TRS MLAs, the police conducted a raid on Rohit Reddy’s Moinabad farmhouse and arrested the alleged BJP men who offered money and contracts to the TRS MLAs,” Ravindra said.
BJP denies charge
R&B minister Vemula Prashanth Reddy alleged that it was an attempt to destabilize the BRS government in Telangana. Lauding the courage and integrity of four MLAs, he told the media on Thursday, “Committed TRS MLAs will not fall prey to the BJP gameplan like Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy, who was bought by the saffron party for Rs 18,000 contracts.”
Union Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy, however, claimed the BJP had no connection with Rohit Reddy’s farmhouse incident. “Police should reveal the amount of money they seized and other evidence to show that BJP was involved,” he said, demanding an inquiry by the CBI or a sitting Supreme Court Judge.
Also read: ‘Target KCR’ is BJP’s by-poll strategy in Telangana, not polarisation
State BJP chief Bandi Sanjay Kumar alleged that the “farmhouse drama” was scripted and directed by none other than KCR. “As TRS got wind of what was going to happen in the Munugode byelection, Chief Minister KCR resorted to this farmhouse drama to damage the BJP’s reputation. But unfortunately, he did not train the MLAs properly before cooking up a seemingly flawless story. It will soon misfire in Munugode,” he said on Thursday.
