Karnataka by poll results tomorrow
Bengaluru, Nov 5 : The results for three Lok Sabha and two assembly constituencies in Karnataka that Saturday went to the bypolls, seen as a prestigious popularity test for the ruling Congress-JDS coalition, will be declared tomorrow.
Officials said counting of votes would begin at five centres, one each in five constituencies, at 8 AM Tuesday with a total of 1,248 counting staff deployed.
An estimated 67 per cent voter turnout was recorded in the bypolls for five constituencies.
A total of 31 candidates were in the fray from all the five constituencies, though the contest is mainly between the Congress-JDS combine and the BJP.
Elaborate security arrangements have been made to ensure to that no untoward incident takes place during the counting of votes, police officials said.
Police have been deployed around the counting centres and strongrooms where the EVMs are placed, they said.
The bypoll results will determine the fate of Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy's wife Anita Kumaraswamy, state BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra and former Chief Minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa and others.
Anita Kumaraswamy is expected to have a smooth sailin Ramanagara, the seat vacated by her husband, after BJP nominee L Chandrashekhar withdrew from the contest and rejoined the Congress.
In Jamkhandi, it remains to be seen whether Congress' Anand Nyamagowda will be able to make his successful electoral debut, riding on the sympathy wave due to death of his father and former MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, by defeating Srikant Kulkarni of the BJP.
While in Shivamogga, Yeddyurappa's son B Y Raghavendra is testing his fortunes against another former chief minister S Bangarappa's son Madhu Bangarappa of the JD(S), in Ballari, senior BJP leader Sriramulu's sister J Shantha is fighting against V S Ugrappa of the Congress, considered an outsider.
In the Vokkaliga bastion of Mandya, JD(S)'s Shivarame Gowda, is pitted against a fresh face in Dr Siddaramaiah, a retired Commercial Tax officer from the BJP.
Among the interesting things that one needs to watch out for is to what extent BJP would be able to make inroads into the JD(S) bastion of Mandya and the Congress stronghold of Jamkhandi.
Of similar interest would be to what extent the Congress will be able to regain its significance in its erstwhile party stronghold of Ballari, the seat earlier won by its top leader Sonia Gandhi.
Differences between Congress and JDS workers had come to the fore in Ramanagara and Mandya constituencies that fall under the old Mysuru region over the party's decision to support the JDS candidates.
Congress and JD(S) had fought bitterly against each other in the assembly polls, especially in the old Mysuru region, but had joined hands to form a coalition government after a fractured mandate in the May assembly polls.
The Congress fielded its candidates in Jamkhandi and Ballari, JD(S) contested in Shivamogga, Ramanagara and Mandya under an electoral understanding.
The outcome of the by-polls is expected to have a bearing on the equations between the Congress and JDS for the 2019 polls and also be a factor in determining the respective bargaining power of the two parties.
The by-polls were seen as significant as the coalition partners contested together, terming it as a "prelude" to the May 2019 general elections and called for a similar "grand secular alliance" against the BJP at the national level.
The by-elections were necessitated after Yeddyurappa (Shivamogga) and Sriramulu (Ballari), and C S Puttaraju of JD(S) (Mandya) resigned as MPs on their election to the assembly in May this year.
Bypolls to Jamkhandi assembly seat was caused by the death of Congress MLA Siddu Nyamagouda, while Ramanagara fell vacant after Kumaraswamy gave up the seat, preferring Channapatna, the other constituency from where he had won.
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MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for 6 yrs: Digvijaya Singh
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Digvijaya Singh on Monday said MPs defecting from political parties must be barred from contesting polls for six years, as he accused the Election Commission of being "biased", and also questioned the need for conducting Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Participating in the discussion on election reforms in the Rajya Sabha, Singh sought removal of the ceiling on electoral expenses to ensure transparency in the election process, and alleged "vote chori (theft)" in states like Karnataka, Haryana, and Maharashtra.
He also claimed that Rahul Gandhi had submitted proof in this regard, but the Election Commission never responded.
He alleged bias by the Election Commission and wondered whether citizenship was being ascertained or a new voter list was being prepared, claiming that matriculation certificates were being demanded from individuals during the SIR exercise.
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"SIR kaha se aa gaya? Humse citizenship ke question poochhey ja rahe hain (where did SIR come from? We are being questioned regarding citizenship)... matriculation certificate is being demanded from voters... whether citizenship is being ascertained or a voter list is being prepared?" Singh questioned during his remarks.
The senior Congress leader said, "When the election commission carries out summary revision four times a year, then what is the need of SIR?"
He suggested that the delimitation exercise should not be based on population and instead on the current seat dynamics in place in the North and South India.
"(Delimitation)... jansankhya ke aadhar par nahin hona chahiye. maujooda anupaat jo dakshin aur uttar bharat ki seats hai uss par hi hona chahiye," Singh said.
Singh claimed that multiple letters were written to the Election Commission and INDIA bloc members had sought time from the body but it was never granted.
He and Home Minister Amit Shah,
He accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of wanting to implement a "fascist dictatorship" by appointing people following a particular ideology on constitutional positions.
He claimed that Shah was never associated with the RSS, a charge debunked by Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Arjun Ram Meghwal.
"Rahul Gandhi ne apne bhashan mein kaha tha is desh mein 2014 ke baad jitne bhi samvidhanik sansthaayein hain unpar ek nishchit vichardhaara ke logon ko bithaya ja raha hai, woh yogya ho ya ayogya ho, aur unke maadhyam se, mera yeh aarop hai, fascist dictatorship laagu karna chahtey hain Narendra Modi ji (Rahul Gandhi in his speeches has said that since 2014 people from a particular ideology, whether qualified or not, are being placed in constitutional posts... my allegation is that Modi ji is trying to impose fascist dictatorship in the country," Singh said.
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Speaking on the issue of illegal immigration, Samik Bhattacharya (BJP) quoted former PM Manmohan Singh's speech on September 30, 2005, claiming that Singh had stated that "India is opposed to all illegal immigration into the country be it from Bangladesh or elsewhere. The illegal immigration should not be encouraged."
He asserted that the Election Commission is a constitutional authority, and the SIR is underway and it needs to be accepted.
He also raised the issue of political violence and demographic imbalance/changes in West Bengal.
Sandeep Kumar Pathak of the Aam Aadmi Party raised the issue of exorbitant electoral expenses and the lack of level-playing field to contest polls by common citizens for this reason. He also suggested proper verification of the voter list.
