RS polls: BJP issues show cause notice to MLAs S T Somashekar & Shivaram Hebbar

Bengaluru: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has issued a show cause notice to two of its MLAs regarding their conduct during the Rajya Sabha elections in Karnataka.

Yeshwantpur MLA S T Somashekar and Yellapur MLA Shivaram Hebbar have been issued show cause notices by the Chief Whip of the BJP, Doddana Gowda Patil, over allegations of cross-voting and abstention from voting, respectively.

The BJP has accused S T Somashekar of violating party directives by allegedly casting votes in favor of the Congress candidate instead of supporting the BJP nominee during the elections held on February 26.

On the other hand, Shivaram Hebbar was reported to have been absent from voting, citing health reasons. However, the BJP disputes this claim, alleging that Hebbar visited the Hilton Resort, where Congress MLAs were staying, on the day before the polls, in a vehicle belonging to a Congress MLA.

The decision to issue show cause notices comes after some initial hesitation from the BJP, possibly influenced by similar incidents in other states, such as Himachal Pradesh, where Congress MLAs were disqualified for cross-voting.

The notices were issued under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, which deals with the anti-defection and disqualification.

The MLAs have been given five days to respond to the notices. The notices highlight the breach of party discipline, as both MLAs were officially directed to vote for the BJP candidate and reminders were sent via WhatsApp.

The notices warn that the actions of the MLAs could potentially lead to their disqualification as legislators, as they may be interpreted as attempts to undermine the official party candidate.

BJP State President B.Y. Vijayendra has acknowledged the demand for action from party activists and stated that further steps will be announced in the coming days.