BJP trying to bribe its way to power

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party yesterday hit back against charges it tried to bribe opposing lawmakers to change sides after an election in a south Indian state left no group with a majority.

H D Kumaraswamy, a leader of the Janata Dal (Secular) party which came third in the Karnataka state election, said Modi's right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had offered $15 million each to as many as 32 lawmakers.

The BJP dismissed the allegation as a "figment of imagination" and attacked Janata Dal (Secular) and the country's main opposition party, Congress.

"The bitter enemies want to come together just for a marriage of convenience. It's unethical," Prakash Javadekar, human resource minister in the national government, told reporters.

Tense negotiations are likely to form the next government in the state. The result is being closely watched as India builds up to a national election next year.

Kumaraswamy's Janata Dal (Secular) secured 37 seats in the 224-member assembly after last Saturday's vote.

The BJP was the single largest party with 104 seats, nine short of an overall majority. Janata Dal (Secular) has however agreed to form a coalition with Congress, which previously controlled the assembly but saw its share cut to 78 seats from 122 previously.