35 BRS leaders join Congress in presence of Kharge, Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi, Jun 26: As many as 35 BRS leaders, including former MP Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy and ex-minister Telangana government Jupally Krishna Rao, joined the Congress and met the party's top leadership here on Monday.
The Bharat Rashtra Samithi leaders formally joined the Congress in the presence of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and former party chief Rahul Gandhi. Party general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal and Congress chief of its Telangana unit A Revanth Reddy were also present at the meeting.
After meeting the Congress top brass, the BRS leaders announced at a press conference that they are joining the Congress. They will later address a public rally in Khammam, Telangana expected to be held in the first week of July with the likely presence of AICC general secretary Priyanka Gandhi.
While Reddy is a former Lok Sabha MP from Khammam, Krishna Rao is a former Andhra Pradesh and Telangana minister and has been an MLA five times.
Later, in a tweet, the Congress wrote, "Winds of change are sweeping through Telangana. In a big boost to the Congress party's prospects, more and more people are aligning with us to take the message of love and prosperity forward."
"Today, senior leaders from Telangana joined the Congress party in the presence of Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Congress President Rahul Gandhi, General Secy (Org.) K C Venugopal, AICC Telangana Incharge Manikrao Thakre, Telangana PCC President Vevanth Reddy and other senior leaders at AICC HQ, New Delhi," the party said.
"This winds of change started with 'Bharat Jodo Yatra', the effect of which you saw in Karnataka. Today, many important leaders of Telangana are joining Congress party and all of them have held long talks after meeting top leaders of the party," said AICC leader Pawan Khera at a press conference.
"Many important leaders of Telangana joined our party today. Together we will tell the people of Telangana how BJP and BRS are cheating them. I thank all these senior leaders from the bottom of my heart," Telangana Congress chief A Revanth Reddy said.
The development comes ahead of Assembly elections in the state later this year. The Congress is seeking to wrest power from the BRS, which has been in power for the last almost a decade in Telangana.
Among the other leaders who joined the Congress include six-time former MLA Gurnath Reddy, ex-MLA and Zila Parishad Chairman Koram Kanakaiah, former MLA Payam Venkateshwarlu, District Cooperative Central Bank (DCCB) ex-chairman Muvament Vijaya Baby, sitting DCCB Chairman Thulluri Bramhaiah, ex-chairman of SC Corporation Pidamarthi Ravi, Markfed state Vice Chairperson Borra Rajshekhar and Municipal Chairperson, Warya and Mandal Praja Parishad Chairman S. Jaipal, and other senior BRS leaders.
Winds of change are sweeping through Telangana.
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) June 26, 2023
In a big boost to the Congress party's prospects, more and more people are aligning with us to take the message of love and prosperity forward.
Today, senior leaders from Telangana joined the Congress party in the presence of… pic.twitter.com/mkgd6ToL6k
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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.
