(Bloomberg) -- India’s key southern state of Karnataka has been rocked by allegations that a lawmaker from a regional party allied with Prime Minister Narendra Modi sexually abused several women and left the country to avoid facing charges.

Prajwal Revanna — a grandson of former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda and a lawmaker in the national parliament — is being investigated by police for sexual harassment and criminal intimidation, according to local media. Almost 3,000 explicit videos of Revanna allegedly abusing the women have gone viral on social media. He’s denied the allegations, local media reported. 

Revanna is a member of Janata Dal (Secular), a regional party that’s in alliance with Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party in Karnataka. He won one of Karnataka’s 28 seats in India’s Lok Sabha, the lower house of parliament, in 2019 and is contesting the seat in elections currently underway. Modi has previously campaigned on behalf of Revanna to bolster his chances in the elections. 

Revanna has now been suspended from the party, with some local reports saying he fled to Germany a day after the parliamentary constituency of Hassan, which he’s contesting, voted.

Opposition leaders have questioned Modi’s silence over the allegations and whether the BJP knew about the matter before it became public. 

Rahul Gandhi, the face of the main opposition Indian National Congress, told an election rally Thursday that Modi should apologize for soliciting votes for Revanna, calling the lawmaker’s crimes “mass rape.” He went on to say the prime minister has “insulted every woman of India” and Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and all BJP leaders “should apologize to every woman of the country.”

Shah distanced the BJP from Revanna on Wednesday.

“I want to make it clear today anyone committing atrocities against women can’t stay with the BJP,” he said at an election rally, speaking in Hindi. “Our stand is clear that those who commit such crimes should be meted out harshest of punishment. There should be no delay in this.” 

It’s unclear if the allegations will undermine support for Modi and the BJP in Karnataka or beyond. The state was a stronghold for the BJP in the 2019 elections, with the party winning 25 of the 28 seats Karnataka holds in the parliament. The Congress party, though, controls the state assembly. 

“Given the fact that one phase of election is over in Karnataka, the second phase is only in seats where JD (S) does not have strong presence and the party itself isn’t contesting any seats,” said Sandeep Shastri, a Bengaluru-based political scientist and national coordinator of the Lokniti Programme for Comparative Democracy. “So in that sense, the impact could be a little dented.”

Neerja Chowdhury, an independent political analyst based in New Delhi, said alliances are very important in the state and “such sex allegations can hurt BJP support nonetheless to some extent.”

Siddaramaiah, the chief minister of Karnataka who goes by one name, called on Modi to take “swift action” to cancel Revanna’s diplomatic passport, which he is allegedly traveling on overseas, and take other necessary measures to make sure he returns to India to face charges.

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