K'taka bypolls: Cong aspirants file nomination, despite party not announcing candidates
Bengaluru (PTI): Congress ticket aspirants for bypolls to Bagalkot and Davangere South Assembly segments in Karnataka filed their nominations on Friday, even as the party is yet to announce its candidates amid a fight for tickets between the contenders.
Bypolls for the Bagalkot and Davanagere South Assembly constituencies were necessitated following the deaths of sitting Congress MLAs H Y Meti and Shamanur Shivashankarappa, respectively.
The nominations were filed, even as AICC General Secretary in-charge of Karnataka, Randeep Singh Surjewala, held discussions in Bengaluru with Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and his deputy D K Shivakumar, who is also the party president in the state, regarding candidates for the two seats.
Later speaking to reporters, Surjewala expressed confidence about Congress winning both seats and asserted that the party was united.
The BJP has already announced Veerabhadrayya Charantimath from Bagalkot and Srinivas T Dasakariyappa from Davangere South, following the approval of its Central Election Committee.
The last date for filing of nominations is March 23 and elections will be held on April 9.
Shivakumar, later speaking to reporters after meeting party leaders along with Surjewala, said a list will be sent to New Delhi for the party's Central Election Committee to decide and announce the candidate.
"We have sought everyone's opinion. After discussion, we will send a list to New Delhi. Everyone (all aspirants) has said that they will work unitedly for the party, whoever the candidate is. Some, including Minister S S Mallikarjun's son, filed nominations today because it was an auspicious day, but they will abide by the party's decision," he said.
Strong competition for tickets within the Congress is reportedly the reason for the party delaying the announcement of candidates, party sources said, adding that candidates will be announced soon after taking everyone into confidence, as dissidence may hamper the prospects.
Congress' ticket aspirants Samarth Shamanur and Sadiq Pailwan filed their nominations from the Davangere South Assembly segment, even as the party is yet to announce the candidate officially.
While veteran Congress leader Shamanur Shivashankarappa's family and supporters are demanding that his grandson Samarth should be fielded for the Davangere South seat, which fell vacant following the former's death, there is also a strong demand from Muslims that the ticket be given to a candidate from their community, which has a significant presence in the segment.
Samarth's father S S Mallikarjun, is a minister in the Siddaramaiah-led Cabinet and is in charge of Davangere district, while his mother Prabha Mallikarjun is Member of Parliament in the region. There is opposition within the Congress from some quarters against giving the ticket to the Shamanur family, which has considerable clout in the region.
Meanwhile, a few Muslim legislators and leaders led by Minister B Z Zameer Ahmed Khan met AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, and reportedly discussed the Davangere South candidate.
Speaking to reporters, Samarth, who was accompanied by his mother Prabha Mallikarjun while filing the nomination, said he filed it today as it was an auspicious day, and expressed confidence about getting the Congress ticket, reminding them of his grandfather's contribution to building the party in the state.
He said he will file another set of nominations on Monday after officially getting a party ticket.
Sadiq Pailwan, after filing his papers, said he is a loyal party worker and filed his nomination because he has the support of people from all communities in Davangere South.
Expressing confidence about getting a party ticket, he said he will file another set of nominations as the official candidate of Congress on Monday.
In Bagalkot, although there are indications that the ticket will be given to Meti's family, there is strong disagreement among his sons and daughters, as each one of them is an aspirant, party sources said.
Meanwhile, another strong aspirant from the Congress, Govind Ballari, filed his nomination, expressing hopes that the party will give him a ticket.
According to Congress party sources, the party will likely announce its candidates for both seats at the earliest, mostly on Saturday.
After meeting with the CM and Deputy CM, Surjewala said the Congress party is united in Karnataka and also in the rest of the states.
"I am here and AICC secretaries are here. Because the Congress party believes even a single person's view point must be heard. Every single Congress karyakarta and Congress leader has a right to express their aspirations, express their demand, express their hope. We decide as a family and then we will work unitedly," he told reporters.
Pointing out that Congress had won earlier bypolls in the state, he said, "The people of Karnataka are with us. Ordinary people and poor people are with us. We are going to win the two by-elections with the blessings of our brothers and sisters of Karnataka."
Meanwhile, Bagalkot BJP candidate Veerabhadrayya Charantimath filed his nomination on Friday.
In Bagalkot, Congress's Meti defeated BJP's Charantimath by a margin of 5,878 votes in the 2023 Assembly polls. In Davangere South, Congress's Shivashankarappa defeated BJP's B G Ajay Kumar by a margin of 27,888 votes.
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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.
