It is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka Assembly elections: Vijay Mallya

Vijay Mallya says if he could, he would have voted in next month's Karnataka assembly elections but conditions of his bail won't allow it.

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London: Embattled liquor tycoon Vijay Mallya said on Friday that it was his democratic right to vote in the Karnataka assembly elections scheduled for May 12. He, however, added that prevailing conditions mean that he won't be able to.

Mallya, who fleed to UK, is on trial at the Westminster Magistrates' Court which will rule if he can be extradited to India to face charges of fraud and money laundering amounting to around Rs 9,000 crores. Previously, he was a MP in Rajya Sabha from Karnataka. "Yes, it is my democratic right to vote in Karnataka but conditions of my bail are such that I cannot leave the UK," the 62-year-old was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. "I haven't been following the politics there so cannot comment on the political developments."

Although he has been in the UK since March of 2016, Mallya previously held the post of MP apart from being a business magnet. His first term in Rajya Sabha was between 2002 and 2008, and then was re-elected in 2010 before resigning in 2016.

Mallya is wanted in India on charges relating to his defunct Kingfisher Airlines defaulting on loans from various Indian banks amounting to Rs 9,000 crore. Mallya was arrested by Scotland Yard on an extradition warrant in April, 2017 and has been out on bail on a bond worth 650,000 pounds.