Bengaluru, March 15 (NationPress) Authorities apprehended two individuals at a resort situated near Bengaluru who allegedly tried to entice Odisha Congress MLAs, currently residing there in preparation for the forthcoming Rajya Sabha elections, according to police reports on Sunday.

The incident reportedly took place at the Wonderla resort close to Bidadi, a town along the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway, where eight Congress MLAs from Odisha are staying due to worries about potential poaching attempts prior to the elections.

As per Congress claims, two men, believed to be from Odisha, gained access to the resort grounds and purportedly approached one of the MLAs with a proposition to sway their votes in the Rajya Sabha election.

The suspects allegedly offered a blank cheque while trying to negotiate with the MLAs.

In a formal complaint lodged with the Bidadi Police, Ashok Kumar Das, Deputy Leader of the Odisha Congress Legislature Party, stated that multiple individuals approached the MLAs with bribery offers and issued threats following the rejection of their proposal.

"Today, March 15, four unidentified individuals met some of our MLAs and allegedly attempted to bribe them with crores of rupees each to cross-vote in favor of a candidate. When our MLAs declined their offer, the individuals allegedly threatened us with violence should we return to Odisha. They also resorted to using abusive and vulgar language against us," Das wrote in the complaint.

The four individuals implicated by Congress in this alleged bribery attempt are Birendra Prasad, Suresh, Ajit Kumar Sahu, and Simachal Mahakud.

R. Srinivas Gowda, Superintendent of Police (Bangalore South), confirmed that the police received a complaint and stated that a preliminary investigation into the allegations is currently in progress, with appropriate actions to follow.

"Yes, we have received a complaint from the MLAs, and we are in the process of verification. Soon, we will convert it into an FIR. Two individuals have been detained," Gowda informed IANS.

Further details regarding the incident are still awaited.

This occurrence unfolds amid escalating political tensions leading up to the Rajya Sabha elections scheduled for March 16.

Given the fears of cross-voting and alleged bribery attempts, the Congress leadership previously relocated eight of its MLAs from Odisha to a resort in Bengaluru to ensure their unity until voting occurs.

According to party officials, the decision to move the MLAs to Karnataka was made following internal discussions aimed at preventing rival political factions from influencing them ahead of the election.

The leaders are expected to return to Bhubaneswar just hours before the voting for the Rajya Sabha seats is set to commence.