Bengaluru, Feb 18: The bypoll to the Karnataka Legislative Council seat which fell vacant due to the death of Council deputy speaker S L Dharmegowda will take place on March 15, the Election Commission said on Thursday.
According to the ECI order, notification for the bypoll will be issued on February 25 and the last date of filing nominations is March 4.
The last date for withdrawal is March 8.
The ECI said the polling by the MLAs will take place between 9 am to 4 pm on March 15 and counting of votes will take place the same day.
The Commission said the election process should conclude before March 18.
It also said the election will take place as per COVID-19 safety guidelines including wearing of face masks and using sanitisers.
Dharmegowda, the 64-year-old JD(S) MLC, was found dead on a rail track in Chikkamagaluru district of Karnataka in the early hours of December 29, with police sources claiming he died by suicide.
The late leader was at the centre of high drama in the legislative council on December 15, which saw BJP-JD(S) and Congress members hurling abuses and pushing each other over a row pertaining to a no-confidence motion against then Chairman K Pratapachandra Shetty.
During the ruckus, Dharmegowda, who was in the Chairman's seat, was pulled down by some Congress legislators who accused him of occupying the chair against the rules.
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Yendagandi (Andhra Pradesh) (PTI): The dead body of a 45-year-old unidentified man was delivered to a family here in West Godavari district in a box with a demand for over Rs one crore claiming it to be the compounded amount of a loan taken years ago, police said on Friday.
The box was delivered at the under construction house of the family on Thursday night.
District superintendent of police Adnan Nayeem Asmi said the box was delivered to the family of four with a letter demanding them to pay up Rs 1.35 crore.
"Last night the body reached this place (under construction house)," Asmi told PTI, adding police were probing the case to unearth further details.
According to police sources, the box was delivered to Sagi Tulasi's under construction home at Yendagandi village in Undi mandal in an autorickshaw.
Incidentally, Tulasi's husband went missing more than 10 years ago and never returned home, prompting her to live with her parents
Asmi said Tulasi lived with her parents until her younger sister arrived and later she moved to a rented accommodation.
Later, Tulasi started constructing a house about one km away from her parents' home and started receiving help from a philanthropist, who had sent her high quality tiles and paints in September.
According to the police, the unidentified philanthropist told Tulasi that as they both belonged to the same caste and that she was a 'widow', he was helping her.
Similarly, a message was sent to Tulasi on Thursday that she would receive some electrical goods such as motors and other articles and the box was delivered, with the body in it, police said.
Upon discovering the corpse, Tulasi's family informed the police. Along with the body, they also found a letter which claimed that Tulasi's husband had taken a loan of Rs 3 lakh back in 2008, which has now compounded to Rs 1.35 crore.
"'So, if you don't want anything bad to happen, you should pay up", police said quoting from the letter, adding the family does not have such financial muscle. A property dispute angle was also being suspected.
"We are checking up on all the missing people in the last three to four days. After post mortem (of the body) we will get more clarity," said the SP.
Meanwhile, Asmi noted that the younger son-in-law of the family has been missing since yesterday.