The Rajya Sabha natak in Karnataka

Last weekend, Bangalore played host to the finals of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Next weekend, unless the election to the Rajya Sabha is countermanded by the Election Commission following two sting operations aired by news channels, will see a big clash in the Indian Political League. A match starring big money, bigger political reputations and high stakes.

Right from the time that the ruling Congress, which is short of votes to get a third candidate elected as Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka decided to make a bid for it, it was clear that money will be the name of the game.

Lucre of this kind is not new to Karnataka, the land of "Operation Kamala" - the name given to the bid to "win over" opposition MLAs, make them resign, join the BJP and win elections on its ticket to shore up the minority BS Yeddyurappa government in 2008.

Also read - Why 2016 Rajya Sabha elections will be dirty

In contrast to two career politicians for the first two safe seats - Oscar Fernandes and Jairam Ramesh - the Congress chose IPS officer-turned-educationist KC Ramamurthy as its candidate for the third seat.

A moneybag, Ramamurthy's job was to garner the support of 12 non-Congress MLAs (rebel JDS legislators and independents) to add to the 33 surplus votes from the Congress. Forty-five votes are needed to get elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka.

The calculation went awry when the Janata Dal (Secular) decided to field Mangalore realtor BM Farook. He set the cat among the Congress pigeons by getting 10 of the 16 independents to propose his candidature.

The JD(S) has 40 MLAs in the 224-member house but with five of its legislators sailing with the Congress, it would effectively need ten non-JDS votes to get Farook elected.

If chief minister Siddaramaiah was nervous, he showed it. He vented his anger at Congress MLA Mohiuddin Bava because Farook happens to be his brother.

Whispers in Vidhana Soudha are about that Farook's renewable energy companies secured many contracts in the energy sector in Karnataka, with more than a helping hand from Mohiuddin Bava.

So Bava was asked to convince Farook to withdraw or face the music, which included not getting a Congress ticket to contest the assembly election in 2018.

At the same time, the CM and energy minister DK Shivakumar met the same independent MLAs who had proposed Farook's name, to convince them to do a volte face and vote for Ramamurthy.

Also read - Why Karnataka Congress government is at Yeddyurappa's mercy

The battle now is no longer between Ramamurthy and Farook but between Siddaramaiah and HD Deve Gowda. The former prime minister has never been able to come to terms with the fact that Siddaramaiah, who was a JD(S) leader and Gowda's protege, managed to make it big in the Congress. If Ramamurthy loses, the knives will be out for the CM and wouldn't Gowda and sons love that!

But no drama in Karnataka's political theatre is without a story within a story. And this one involves the BJP. The saffron party is sitting pretty with the required number of votes to ensure Union minister of state for commerce and industry Nirmala Sitharaman is elected but could get into a quid pro quo arrangement with the JD(S) with its second preference votes.

In turn, it could ask for JD(S) support to ensure the election of its second candidate for MLC post, Lehar Singh, a close associate of Yeddyurappa. Deve Gowda's son and former chief minister, HD Kumaraswamy is known to be a political freelancer who does political business easily with both the Congress and the BJP. So do not rule out Kumaraswamy allying with Yeddyurappa to embarrass Siddaramaiah.

Also read - Why Siddaramaiah is the Rahul Gandhi of Karnataka

Another sub-plot is working in Bangalore. The BJP is still smarting at how the Congress despite winning less wards in the elections to the Bangalore municipal corporation (BBMP) managed to get its man elected as the city's mayor, with JD(S) support.

So it has reportedly offered a similar arrangement to the JD (S) and is waiting for the Gowda Parivaar to bite the bullet. Kumaraswamy is wary of the Congress poaching on JD(S) corporators over a period of time and wants to encash his BBMP fixed deposit before his representatives become vulnerable to Congress overtures.

But for now, the Rajya Sabha election, thanks to the stings, is the high TRP soap. Whoever wins - Ramamurthy or Farook - the match will be a fixed one. And like last Sunday, Bangalore will once again be the loser.