Polling begins for Adampur bypoll in Haryana
Chandigarh (PTI): Polling began on Thursday for bypolls in Haryana's Adampur Assembly constituency, whose outcome will decide if the Bhajan Lal family holds on to its bastion of five decades.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm. Nearly 1.71 lakh voters are eligible to cast vote. Counting of votes will be taken up on November 6.
Twenty-two candidates, all men, are in the fray. The main parties contesting are the BJP, Congress, Indian National Lok Dal, and the Aam Aadmi Party.
The bypoll was necessitated after former Haryana Chief Minister Bhajan Lal's younger son Kuldeep Bishnoi resigned as MLA from the seat and switched sides from the Congress to the BJP in August.
Bishnoi's son Bhavya, who is contesting the bypoll as the BJP candidate, had also quit the Congress and joined the BJP. Bhavya, 29, had lost the 2019 Lok Sabha polls from Hisar to BJP's bureaucrat-turned-politician Brijendra Singh.
The Congress has fielded former Union minister Jai Prakash, a three-time MP from Hisar and two-time MLA as well.
The INLD picked Congress rebel Kurda Ram Nambardar as its candidate. The AAP has fielded Satender Singh, who switched over from the BJP.
Kuldeep Bishnoi defeated late Sonali Phogat, who had contested on a BJP ticket, in Adampur in the 2019 Assembly elections.
Kuldeep Bishnoi along with his mother Jasma Devi, son Bhavya, and wife Renuka, were among the voters who turned up early at the polling booth and cast vote.
"Everyone should come and cast their vote," Kuldeep Bishnoi said, after casting his vote.
A total of 180 polling booths have been set up, 36 of them have been termed "sensitive" and 39 "hypersensitive." Tight security arrangements have been made by the district administration to conduct the polling in a free, fair and peaceful manner, officials said.
Kuldeep Bishnoi has maintained that Adampur has been his family's citadel, and that people have showered their love and blessings on it for decades and would do so once again. The Adampur seat has been held by the Bhajan Lal family since 1968, with the late ex-chief minister representing it on nine occasions, his wife Jasma Devi once, and Kuldeep on four occasions.
Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, however, has termed Adampur a stronghold of his party. Late Bhajan Lal was a chief minister from the Congress, he had added.
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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.
