Man who hosted lunch for Amit Shah joins BJD
Berhampur (Odisha), Nov 3 : A man, who had hosted a lunch for BJP president Amit Shah during his visit to Ganjam district last year, joined the BJD.
Naveen Swain of Hugulapeta, about 12 km from here, had served lunch to Shah and other senior BJP leaders, including Union ministers Dharmendra Pradhan and Jual Oram, during their visit to the village for a party programme on July 4 last year.
Swain, along with BJP sarapanch Pradeep Kumar Malana and several of his supporters, joined the ruling Biju Janata Dal (BJD) in a meeting at the village Thursday.
Local BJD MLA from Gopalpur and former minister Pradeep Panigrahy welcomed them.
"We welcomed Naveen Swain and Malana to our party. The party's organisation will be strengthened in the panchayat with their entry into the BJD. We'll carry out more development work in the panchayat," said Panigrahy.
"I decided to join the BJD because the party keeps its promise," said 36-year-old Swain, who came to limelight after hosting Shah in his dilapidated house.
"My house was damaged in cyclone Phailin in October 2013. Top leaders of the BJP had visited the house. They had also expressed concern after seeing the house. But they did nothing for me," he said.
On the other hand, the BJD had arranged a house under the 'Biju Pucca Ghara', a state government-sponsored scheme, he said.
"The BJD is doing development work. I joined the BJD to expedite the development work in the panchayat," said Malana.
Reacting to the development, Bharatiya Janata Party's state secretary Bibhuti Jena said, "The ruling party is purchasing the poor people to take credit. It's not good for democracy."
BJP district unit president Kanhu Charan Pati said Swain was not a member of the BJP. "We had selected his house for party president's lunch because Swain was a poor man," Pati 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.
