Amit Shah to address BJP OBC Morcha meet on Gehlot's home turf Jodhpur
Jaisalmer/Jodhpur (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah is on Saturday going to address the valedictory session of a national-level meeting of the BJP's OBC Morcha in Jodhpur, the home turf of Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
Later, Shah will also deliver the inaugural address at a meeting of the BJP's booth-level workers in Jodhpur.
Prior to his arrival in Jodhpur, the Union home minister is scheduled to visit the Tanot Mata temple around 10.30 am.
He will also lay the foundation stone of border tourism development work at the Tanot premises around 11 am.
Shah arrived in Jaisalmer on Friday evening.
In Jodhpur, BJP functionaries said the home minister would be accorded a grand welcome. Over 1,500 party workers wearing saffron turbans and riding motorcycles will escort him to the venue of the meeting from the airport, they said.
National president of the BJP OBC Morcha K Laxman, Union Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav and Rajasthan BJP chief Satish Poonia inaugurated the two-day working committee meeting on Friday morning.
Soon after the party's OBC Morcha meeting, Shah will address the BJP's booth-level workers at Jodhpur's Dussehra Ground. The party is mobilising its booth-level workers from the entire division for the meeting.
"The party workers' meeting is going to be historic," a BJP leader told PTI.
The national working committee meet of the BJP's OBC Morcha in Jodhpur is aimed at strengthening the party's OBC vote bank in the state ahead of the 2023 Assembly elections.
Jodhpur is the home town of Gehlot, who also belongs to the OBC category.
The BJP also wants to measure its strength in the state's western part ahead of the assembly elections.
Known locally as Marwar, Jodhpur is the biggest division of Rajasthan and comprises six districts -- Jodhpur, Barmer, Jaisalmer, Jalore, Sirohi, and Pali.
Of the 200 Assembly constituencies, 33 are in Jodhpur division, including 10 in Jodhpur district. Of these, the BJP currently holds 14 seats, the Congress 17, while the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party and Independents hold one seat each.
"OBC is a vast community. It is with the BJP ideology. This is the first time in the BJP regime that we have 27 ministers from this community. Also the OBC commission has been given constitutional recognition by the Narendra Modi government," Poonia said.
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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.
