Karnataka crisis: Resort politics costs crores, but nobody knows who is paying

Bengaluru, Jul 15: The political turmoil in Karnataka may have engrossed many citizens nationwide, but the common man in the state, struggling to make both ends meet, is baffled at the outrageous sums of money both sides - the Congress-JD(S) coalition and the opposition BJP - are spending to win over MLAs or prevent them from defecting.

All three parties have splurged crores of rupees on tucking away MLAs at resorts or star hotels since the current political imbroglio began with 13 legislators of the ruling parties handing in their resignations on July 6.

As more MLAs jumped ship and shuttled between Bengaluru and Mumbai on chartered flights, the rebels and political parties moved the Supreme Court and hired the services of advocates who charge a few lakh rupees per hearing to fight their cases.

The largest sums were spent to get legislators to switch sides, with some sources estimating that parties paid an average of 20 crore per MLA.

A daily cost of rooms in hotels and resorts in Bengaluru and Mumbai in which MLAs of all parties have been lodged ranges between 4,000 and 11,000.

A special flight from Bengaluru to Mumbai comes with a bill of around 4 lakh per trip, and the rebel MLAs have hired special flights at least five times since the crisis unfolded.

"Even at conservative estimates, each party spent around 50 lakh on hotels and flights over the past few days," said a Congress functionary who oversees visits of national leaders to the state.

If this were not enough, some rebels chartered special flights to visit temples in Maharashtra.

So who is picking up the tab? Rebel MLAs have claimed that they are spending their own money to stay in star hotels, but the Congress and JD(S) have fingered the BJP. Nobody really knows who is doing the spending.

"If the BJP is not operating from behind, how come rebel MLAs get special flights as and when required?," Congress senior leader Mallikarjun Kharge asked when the first batch of MLAs flew to Mumbai. This is not the first time so much money has changed hands to woo MLAs. The three parties have herded MLAs to resorts at least thrice in the past 14 months.

After the 2018 assembly polls threw up a fractured verdict, the Congress and JD(S) packed off their MLAs to resorts to foil possible poaching attempts by the BJP. The BJP staked claim and BS Yeddyurappa took oath as CM but had to resign within three days.

In the run up to the budget session, too, a few ruling coalition MLAs were moved to Mumbai after threatening to withdraw support.

The BJP also moved its MLAs to a resort near Gurugram. The Congress and JD(S) followed suit and moved their MLAs to a resort.