TRS sources claimed that the four MLAs were offered Rs 100 crore each, apart from contracts running into crores, to cross over. BJP, however, has said it has nothing to do with the alleged poaching attempt.
The allegations were made even as campaigning for the Munugode byelection in Nalgonda peaked.
TRS sources claimed that BJP was trying to engineer the defections so that the four MLAs join them on October 31, when the party’s national president, JP Nadda arrives in Telangana to campaign in Munugode.
The four TRS MLAs allegedly targeted are Guvvala Balaraj from Achampet, Rohith Reddy from Tandur, Kollapur MLA Harshavardhan Reddy and Pinapaka MLA Rega Kantha Rao.
Although Cyberabad police officials did not show any cash seizure, sources said that they had found a car at the spot with a large amount of cash in it.
Cyberabad police commissioner Stephen Raveendra told reporters that the TRS MLAs had themselves alerted the cops about the alleged attempt to bribe them, after which police raided the farmhouse of Rohith Reddy and found the four MLAs and the alleged BJP aides in discussion.
There was, however, no clarity on which sections of the law were invoked against the accused.
“The MLAs were offered cash, contracts and posts,” Raveendra claimed. “After the MLAs gave us the information, a raid was conducted by the police and we found three persons there.
They are Rama Chandra Bharathi alias Satish Sharma, who is associated with a temple in Faridabad and lives in Delhi, Nanda Kumar from Hyderabad and D Simhayaji from Tirupati.”
All the four MLAs left the farmhouse after the raid and rushed to Pragathi Bhavan, chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao’s official residence and camp office.
TRS Chennur MLA Balka Suman said, “In Telangana, BJP’s inability to win the people’s goodwill has led to it trying to lure TRS MLAs. Since TRS is going to win Munugode with a big majority, BJP is trying different conspiracies, including trying to buy our MLAs.”
BJP hits back, says it’s made-up story
BJP reacted sharply to allegations that its leaders tried to poach TRS MLAs. Former MLC Ramchander Rao, in a video statement, said: “BJP has nothing to do with the alleged poaching of MLAs by a few individuals at a farmhouse from where Rs 15 crore is supposed to have been seized from a car. It is disgusting that TRS has orchestrated such political drama. We don’t even need to poach MLAs. In fact, TRS is poaching those who are coming to BJP.” BJP national general secretary D K Aruna alleged the entire episode read like a made-up film script.
