Murky politics is at play in the Rajya Sabha elections in Madhya Pradesh. It has already made, at least so it appears, a villain out of a hero who had entered the Assembly in a by-election only four months ago.

Kishore Samrite was known to be a fighter in the cause of the poor and downtrodden in the tribal district of Balaghat. The administration, vexed at his not so peaceful agitations, had slapped dozens of criminal cases against him. He was behind the bars when the by-election for Lanji constituency was announced towards the close of last year. The seat had fallen vacant following the death of the BJP's Dilip Bhatere. The Samajwadi Party nominated Samrite for the Lanji by-election and the electorate preferred him to the BJP and Congress candidates. He was hailed as the people's representative in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly.

Today, just after four months as an MLA, his credibility and standing as a people's hero are at stake. His actions have been mired in dirt and filth of politics. He had apparently little realised the consequences to his reputation when he called a late night press conference last week and flaunted bundles of Rs-1000 denomination currency notes (total Rs ten lakh) before media persons and said that former Congress minister N.P.Prajapati had given this amount to him as bribe to seek his vote for Vivek Tankha, who is contesting the Rajya Sabha election as an independent.

Such an action by an MLA could have been received with the profoundest applause under normal circumstances, particularly as the Congress leader named by him had never been known to adhere to ethics in politics. But the chronicle of events only puts Samrite in bad light, rather than Prajapati.

The Madhya Pradesh MLAs are to elect three Rajya Sabha members on March 28. It has been computed that a candidate needs 58 votes to win. The ruling BJP, with its 166 members, can get two of its candidates through easily but needs eight votes from outside to send its third candidate to Rajya Sabha. The Congress has 41 MLAs while the other parties account for 20-odd votes.

Vivek Tankha is a former Advocate-General of the State and close to the Congress. He, however, filed his papers as an independent with a view to seeking the support of the other parties. According to one report, it was done under the advice of Samajwadi Party president Mulayam Singh Yadav. In any case, Mulayam Singh Yadav has directed, in writing, to his party MLAs  (numbering eight) to vote for Tankha.

Tankha was the first to file his nomination on March 14 and his proposers included some Samajwadi Party MLAs, among others. The following day, which was the last day, he filed another set of papers which also had the signatures of some Samajwadi Party MLAs. All the three BJP candidates filed their papers on the last day. With that the hunt for additional eight votes needed for the third candidate of the BJP was intensified. Several ministers were assigned the task.

Rajendra Singh, who is the election agent for Tankha, admits having called Samrite and other MLAs frequently to canvass for Tankha. That, by itself, means nothing.

The Congress, on the other hand, has described it as a conspiracy by the 'desperate' BJP to slander the Congress and Tankha. It has also made a formal complaint to the Election Commission and endorsed a copy to the Union Home Ministry.

The circumstances thus suggest that Samrite has been used by the BJP manipulators – of whom there are quite a few in Shivraj Singh Chauhan's cabinet as well as in the party. But the manipulating skills of the Congress leaders, particularly of the likes of N.P.Prajapati, cannot be undermined. The Madhya Pradesh police, which has worked hard to prove itself as subservient to the ruling party, cannot be expected to hold a fair investigation. Perhaps the CBI can. As chief minister Chauhan has declined to refer the matter to the CBI, the Election Commission may shed its indifference in such matters and ask the CBI to hold a thorough investigation and bring the culprits to book.