Two days ahead of the second phase of the Lok Sabha election, the Income Tax department conducted massive raids in Karnataka’s Mandya and Hassan parliamentary constituencies, with several contractors from the coming under the agency’s radar. The I-T raids were carried out on close aides of three top state ministers on Tuesday. 
A few close associates of Karnataka ministers - CS Puttaraju, Revanna and D.C. Thammanna – are under the scanner on suspicions that they helped facilitate the laundering of money in the run-up to the Lok Sabha polls in the state.  While aides of JD(S) leader Puttaraju and Thammanna were raided in Mandya, the income tax department also carried out raids on the associates of state minister Revanna in Hassan. 
Meanwhile, the Congress and the Janata Dal (Secular) have cried foul and have termed the raids as “political vendetta”, accusing the Income Tax department of acting on the behest of the BJP-led Centre.