BJP’s Manjeshwar candidate K Surendran declares 242 pending criminal cases in affidavit
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): BJP leader K Surendran, who is contesting from the Manjeshwar constituency in the April 9 Kerala Assembly polls, has 242 pending criminal cases against him, according to his nomination papers filed on Saturday.
According to the affidavit submitted along with his nomination papers, most of the 242 cases against Surendran are for leading or being part of various protests and agitations.
In his affidavit, he has also declared assets, both movable and immovable, worth over Rs 28 lakh and liabilities of more than Rs nine lakh.
His party colleague and Union Minister of State George Kurian, who is contesting from the Kanjirappally seat, has only one pending criminal case against him for leading a protest in Thiruvananthapuram in 2014.
Kurian, in his affidavit, has declared assets, both movable and immovable, of over Rs 1.74 crore and liabilities of close to Rs two lakhs.
Former Union Minister of State V Muraleedharan, who is contesting from Kazhakootam constituency, is facing eight criminal cases for being part of various protests and agitations.
He has declared movable assets of over Rs 20 lakh and has claimed that he has no immovable property, according to his affidavit.
BJP leader Sobha Surendran, who is contesting from the Palakkad constituency, has 35 criminal cases pending against her, majority of them for leading and being part of various protests and agitations.
She has declared assets, both movable and immovable, worth over Rs 1.94 crore in her affidavit.
BJP councillor and former DGP R Sreelekha, who is contesting from Vattiyoorkavu constituency, in her affidavit has declared assets, both movable and immovable, of over Rs five crore.
She has one criminal case against her, lodged this year, for allegedly disclosing the identity of a POCSO case victim, according to her affidavit.
She has denied the allegation and has moved the Kerala High Court to quash the FIR.
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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.
