Karnataka Minister performs "Nagin dance" to woo voters
Video goes viral
Bengaluru, Apr 10: In a bid to woo voters, Karnataka Housing minister M T B Nagaraj danced to a popular tune from the Hindi movie 'Nagin' much to the amusement of people at Hoskote, near here, and the video has gone viral.
Nagaraj, whose name means King Cobra, had gone with his supporters to Kattigenahalli village in Hoskote Tuesday evening seeking votes for Congress candidate and former union minister Veerappa Moily who is contesting from the Chikkaballapur Lok Sabha constituency.
A music band that followed the minister's convoy started playing the famous 'Nagin' tune to captivate a cobra from the 1954 Hindi movie.
The tune was part of the song 'Man Dole Mera Tan Dole' and it charmed Nagaraj too and the 67-year-old congress leader started to gyrate.
Soon his supporters too began dancing with him and the performance went on for about 10 minutes.
The dance video has gone viral.
Those accompanying Nagaraj finally asked him to slow down in view of his age.
This is not the first time that the minister has exhibited his dance skills in public. He had done it earlier too during religious events in Hoskote.
The minister, popularly known as MTB by his supporters, was ranked the richest MLA in the country by the Association for Democratic Reforms, an NGO, last year which said his assets were valued at over Rs 1,000 crore.
Karnataka goes to the polls in two phases on April 18 and 23.
#VIDEO | Karnataka Housing minister MTB Nagaraj performs "Nagin dance" to woo voters. pic.twitter.com/qEl37ke816
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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.
