Party workers want Rahul Gandhi to be Cong president: D K Shivakumar
Bengaluru, Oct 12: Ahead of the working committee meeting, clamour seems to be growing for Rahul Gandhi to take over as Congress president, as its Karnataka unit chief D K Shivakumar on Tuesday said it is the unanimous voice of the party workers from across the country.
"Whole country, Congress workers, want Rahul Gandhi to take up the responsibility. We have been putting pressure on him since he resigned. The unanimous voice of the Congress workers from across the country is Rahul Gandhi (should take up the mantle of the party)," Shivakumar said.
Speaking to reporters here, he said "Rahul Gandhi is discharging 90 per cent of the responsibilities even now, we want him to take up the responsibility."
"There is a Congress Working Committee meeting on October 16....let's see," he said.
Another senior party leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah too on Monday had expressed his wish that Rahul Gandhi take charge as the party president.
On reports about the party's leadership offering a national role for Siddaramaiah, Shivakumar said it is for the leadership to decide and no such discussion has happened with the state unit.
"It is for the party and the legislature party leader (Siddaramaiah), I don't want to interfere in it, these are mere speculations now, it has not been discussed with us," he said.
There have been speculations that AICC president Sonia Gandhi had recently offered a national role in the party for Siddaramaiah, which he is said to have refused.
Rejecting such reports, Siddaramaiah, however, clarified that no such role was offered to him.
The KPCC president also claimed that several people are keen on joining the Congress, and were holding talks with other leaders and local leaders.
Stating that he was gathering information on coal and power shortage in Karnataka, the former state power minister, in response to a question, said "during our (Congress) rule, we had excess power and we were selling it to others...."
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
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.
