Cong close to finalising candidates for Karnataka Assembly bypolls
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress general secretary and party's Karnataka in-charge, Randeep Singh Surjewala, on Saturday indicated that the party is close to finalising candidates for the upcoming bypolls and that a decision on ticket allocation is likely later in the day or March 22 following consultations with leaders at various levels.
Intense lobbying continued within the Congress regarding the April 9 Assembly bypolls in Davangere South and Bagalkote constituencies, with aspirants and community leaders mounting pressure on the leadership to decide soon.
"In response to your question about when the tickets will be announced, it will be made by tonight or by tomorrow. The party is almost fully in agreement," Surjewala told reporters here.
He said the party wanted to have a broad discussion.
"As I have said earlier, even if a single worker has a differing opinion, it must be heard. That is the Congress Party. We will not bulldoze decisions. We will listen to everyone and then decide," the Congress general secretary said.
According to him, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi will take a call.
A recommendation will be sent by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also the Congress Karnataka president, after consultations with everyone by late Saturday, he added.
"The decision will be made by late evening or by tomorrow," Surjewala said.
When asked about the delay in announcing the candidates, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said, "Local leaders will resolve it. I cannot react to everything."
Party leaders held multiple rounds of discussions in Bengaluru, with several aspirants staking claim and delegations, including representatives from the Muslim community, meeting senior leaders to press for greater representation.
The bypolls were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, which resulted in vacancies in the Davanagere South and Bagalkote Assembly segments respectively.
Both leaders had won their seats in the 2023 Assembly elections.
The relatives of Shamanur Shivashankarappa and Meti are demanding a Congress ticket.
Meti's family members earlier met Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar and demanded a ticket.
Siddaramaiah on Wednesday told reporters that three members of the Meti family -- Mallikarjun, Umesh, and Mahadev -- had sought the ticket to contest from Bagalkote.
Shivashankarappa's son S S Mallikarjun, who is Congress Davangere North MLA, is demanding ticket for his son Samarth Shamanur for Davangere South, Congress sources said.
The BJP has announced fielding Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkote and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South.
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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.
