Former Gujarat CM's son Mahendrasinh Vaghela joins Congress ahead of Assembly polls
Ahmedabad (PTI): Mahendrasinh Vaghela, son of former Gujarat Chief Minister Shankersinh Vaghela, joined the Congress on Friday, ahead of the state Assembly election.
The 58-year-old former MLA was welcomed into the fold by Gujarat Congress president Jagdish Thakor at the party headquarters here.
The development has come ahead of the state Assembly election, which is expected to be held by December.
Talking to reporters, Mahendrasinh said he was joining the Congress without any expectations and will fight the polls if the party wants.
Mahendrasinh, who was a Congress MLA from Bayad in north Gujarat between 2012 and 2017, had quit the party in August 2017, a few months before the Assembly elections, and later joined the BJP.
"The party leadership will decide whether I fight the polls or not. I have joined the Congress without any expectations. I had quit the BJP immediately after joining because I was not comfortable and that was the reason why I had not attended any of their events," he said.
Mahendrasinh was one of the eight Congress MLAs, including his father Shankersinh, who had crossvoted in the Rajya Sabha polls in favour of the BJP candidate in August 2017 and later resigned from the party.
Despite the crossvoting, Congress candidate, late Ahmed Patel, had won the election by defeating the BJP's Balwantsinh Rajput.
Notably, Mahendrasinh had not contested the 2017 state Assembly election.
Mahendrasinh joined the ruling BJP in July 2018 and resigned in October, barely three months after joining the fold.
Without elaborating much about his sudden decision to quit the party, he had stated at the time in his resignation letter that he was resigning due to some "personal reasons".
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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.
