BJP sweeps Tripura Panchayat bypolls
Agartala, Oct 3 : The ruling BJP on Wednesday swept the bypolls for the vacant seats in different Panchayati Raj Institutions, bagging 113 Gram Panchayat seats, officials said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party's ally Indigenous People's Front of Tripura (IPFT) secured nine seats in Gram Panchayats, Tripura State Election Commission (TSEC) officials said.
The opposition Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Congress won four seats each.
The BJP also won five Panchayat Samiti seats while the CPI-M managed only two seats.
The by-elections to 3,386 seats -- 3,207 Gram Panchayat seats, 161 Panchayat Samiti seats and 18 Zilla Parishad seats -- were scheduled for September 30, but polling was held in only 130 Gram Panchayat and seven Panchayat Samiti seats in 11 blocks as over 96 per cent of the seats were won by the BJP candidates unopposed.
These seats fell vacant following large-scale resignations of elected representatives of the Left and other parties after the BJP-led coalition came to power in Tripura in March.
Some of the three-tier Panchayat seats were lying vacant also due to the death of the elected representatives.
Almost all parties, including the BJP's junior partner IPFT, had been demanding rescheduling of the September 30 Panchayat elections to ensure the participation of all parties following large-scale violence during electioneering.
The Opposition CPI-M-led Left Front, the Congress and the IPFT, a tribal-based party, had separately urged the state EC to reschedule the election process as they claimed that "massive violence prevented their nominees from filing papers.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
