Rebel Congress MLAs who brought down Karnataka govt enter bypoll season richer

Former Congress MLA M.T.B. Nagaraju has seen his wealth increase from Rs 1,015 crore to Rs 1,200 crore.

BS Yediyurappa with MTB Nagaraju (to his right) at Hoskote earlier this month | Karnataka CMO

Bengaluru: M.T.B. Nagaraju, one of the Congress rebels now in the BJP, has declared assets worth Rs 1,200 crore in his affidavit for the upcoming Karnataka bypolls. 

In May 2018, when the state went to assembly elections, his assets stood over Rs 185 crore (18 per cent) lower at Rs 1,015 crore.

Another of the rebels, Narayan Gowda, has seen his assets nearly double over the past 18 months, from Rs 6.54 crore in 2018 to Rs 12.94 crore now. 

Nominations for the 15 Karnataka assembly seats due for bypolls on 5 December were filed Monday. 

The seats were vacated after the incumbent MLAs — affiliated to the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) — resigned earlier this year and brought down the fragile coalition government propped up by the two rival parties.

As a result, B.S. Yediyurappa of the BJP was sworn in as chief minister in late July as the leader of the single-largest party in the house.

Seventeen MLAs resigned altogether, but two of the seats remain locked in litigation, which has precluded the prospect of bypolls just yet.

Thirteen of the rebels are now contesting the bypolls on a BJP ticket. Almost all the rebels who have declared their assets have shown an uptick in their personal wealth. 

53 deposits worth Rs 48 crore in a week

Nominated from Hosakote, Nagaraju is one of the richest candidates in the fray.

Nagaraju’s 2019 affidavit shows 53 deposits totalling around Rs 48 crore within a week in August. Around the time the Kumaraswamy government fell, a deposit of Rs 1.16 crore was made into his account. The deposits are spread over 193 bank accounts between Nagaraju and his wife. 

Nagaraju’s defection was nothing short of drama. Late evening on 13 July, Nagaraju met former chief minister Siddaramaiah and assured the Congress that that he will not shift his allegiance to the BJP like the others. 

By morning, however, he was on a flight to Mumbai to join the other rebel MLAs who were holed up in a resort in the city. 

After the rebels returned to Bengaluru and were formally disqualified by former speaker K.R. Ramesh Kumar, one of the first things Nagaraju did was purchase a Rolls-Royce Phantom VIII. Priced at Rs 11 crore on road, it is the most expensive vehicle available in India. 

Narayan Gowda, who also quit the Congress for the BJP, is contesting the election from K.R. Pete. 

Anand Singh, the former MLA for Ballari’s Vijayanagara and the first legislator to withdraw his support to the Kumaraswamy government, has seen his assets grow 46 per cent from Rs 71.35 crore in 2018 to Rs 104 crore in 2019.  

Singh was the MLA brutally attacked by party colleague J.N. Ganesh, who represents Kampli, after the 2018 elections. 

Singh, however, claims that he quit the party because he was unhappy about the Kumaraswamy government not paying heed to his demand for a separate district of Vijayanagara. The area is currently being administered as part of the Ballari district. 

Fall in asset value

Former JD(S) state president A.H. Vishwanath, who is contesting on a BJP ticket from Hunsur, is one of the few rebels whose wealth seems to have shrunk. 

Vishwanath declared assets worth Rs 2.4 crore in 2018, but their value is now down to Rs 67 lakh. 

Ramesh Jarkiholi, another of the Congress rebels, has seen his wealth fall from Rs 39.20 crore to Rs 38 crore. 

Mahesh Kumathalli, yet another Congress rebel who is now the BJP nominee for Athani, has seen his assets drop from Rs 10.22 crore to Rs 9.23 crore. 

He faces a tough ride ahead too. Kumathalli, who defeated the BJP’s Laxman Savadi from Athani in 2018, faces resistance from the latter’s supporters.

Party workers who support Savadi, one of the ministers caught watching porn in the assembly in 2012, say they will only support the BJP if Savadi, now the deputy chief minister, contests from the seat. 

An earlier version of the report erroneously stated that Mahesh Kumathalli’s assets had dropped to Rs 1 crore. It also overstated A.H. Vishwanath’s current asset total. The errors are regretted.