Today in Politics: As JD(S) MP Prajwal Revanna is arrested, what will be the political fallout?

Suspended Janata Dal (Secular) MP Prajwal Revanna who is facing sexual abuse allegations was arrested in the early hours of Friday after he landed in Bengaluru airport from Munich, Germany. A Karnataka Police Special Investigation Team (SIT) has arrested him and he is likely to be produced in a local court on Friday morning.

The MP, who sought re-election as the NDA candidate from Hassan Lok Sabha constituency, left for Germany on April 27 soon after news broke out that the Karnataka State Commission for Women requested Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to order an investigation into the huge cache of explicit videos showing several women being allegedly sexually abused by him. So far, three cases of sexual assault have been registered against Prajwal, police sources said.

Two days ago, the Hassan MP released a video message in which he promised to appear before the SIT on May 31 and cooperate with the inquiry. As a last-ditch attempt to avoid arrest, Prajwal moved the Special Court for Elected Representatives here through his counsel on Wednesday, seeking anticipatory bail, but it was rejected. On May 18, the special court had issued an arrest warrant against Prajwal, following an application moved by the SIT. The SIT arrested his father and JD(S) MLA H D Revanna in connection with the abduction of a woman. Currently, he is out on bail.

In context: The political fallout of the case against Prajwal and what the Congress has to say will be among the developments to watch out for today. For the BJP, the allegations surfaced late last month at a time when it was heading into the crucial second leg of the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka and it was believed that the accusations had the potential to cause some damage. At the time, the