Why the Congress did not confiscate mobiles of its MLAs this time

In the run up to the trust vote in Karnataka that did not take place owing to B S Yeddyurappa resigning, the Congress released several recorded conversations. In the conversations, BJP leaders are heard trying to convince leaders of the Congress to cross vote.

Usually in the past we have seen that the mobile phones of the MLAs are confiscated when they are holed up at resorts in a bid to avoid poaching. This time around it was different and the leaders were allowed to keep their mobile phones. There was however one clause and that each of the MLAs had to install a call recording application on their phones.

The Congress not only wanted to track every call being made by BJP leaders, but also build a narrative around this. As the time for the trust vote neared on Saturday, the Congress released several recordings to the media in a bid to embarrass the BJP. The narrative that the Congress was trying to build was clearly aimed at putting the BJP in poor light.

The Congress wanted the public to know that the BJP was trying to buy its MLAs. The first of the clips that were released made it appear as thought mining baron Janardhan Reddy was trying to buy a minister. In this clip Reddy is allegedly speaking with Raichur MLA Basanagouda Patil.

In the second clip, Yeddyurappa is heard speaking to Hirekerur MLA B C Patil, by offering him a Cabinet berth. The Congress released other clips as well in which BJP leaders were trying to lure Congress MLAs. H D Kumaraswamy had alleged that the BJP was trying to buy his MLAs for Rs 100 crore.