I am the candidate in Channapatna no matter who contests: D K Shivakumar
Channapatna: Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Friday reiterated that he would be the Congress candidate for the Channapatna bypolls no matter who contests from here on his party's ticket.
The constituency in Ramanagara district fell vacant after JD(S) second-in-command H D Kumaraswamy resigned from the assembly after he won the Mandya Lok Sabha election as the NDA candidate and became the Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries.
"I am the one who issues B-form and I am the signatory for it. Hence, it is a vote for me, no matter who contests," Shivakumar told reporters at his Sadashivanagar residence in the city.
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Since the Congress will be taking on a combined opposition of the BJP and JD(S) in the bypoll, Shivakumar said it would not matter who joined hands.
Replying to a query on whether he would welcome BJP MLC C P Yogeshwara if he showed interest in joining Congress, he said no one has approached him and such proposals are not before him.
Channapatna has been a JD(S) fort.
Kumaraswamy won from here in the assembly polls in 2023 and in the Mandya Lok Sabha election in 2024.
The Congress is trying hard to wrest the seat from the JD(S).
However, the JD(S) leadership is buoyed by the alliance it has forged with the BJP.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
