“Polls without voting,” Actor Kishore flags concerns over unopposed election of Mahayuti candidates
Bengaluru: Popular Actor Kishore Kumar has expressed concern over the unopposed election of 68 Mahayuti alliance candidates before the polling date, January 15.
Of the 68 candidates elected unopposed across the state, 44 belong to the BJP.
In a post on his Facebook handle, Kishore wrote, "Mother of democracy- Only democracy where elections happen without voting"
The BJP-led alliance is also poised to take control of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), the country’s richest civic body. Out of the 227 seats in the BMC, the Mahayuti alliance has secured 118 seats, with the BJP winning 89 seats and its ally, the Shiv Sena (Shinde faction), securing 29 seats.
Why did so many candidates get elected unopposed?
The unusually high number of unopposed victories in Maharashtra’s civic polls is reportedly the result of mass withdrawals by opposition candidates on the final day of nominations, leaving Mahayuti nominees as the sole contenders in several wards.
Opposition alleges coercion, money power behind withdrawals
Meanwhile, opposition parties have alleged that the unopposed elections were won through intimidation and inducements.
Leaders from the Shiv Sena (UBT), Congress, MNS, AAP and Samajwadi Party have claimed that rival candidates were pressured to withdraw, with allegations ranging from threats to offers of large sums of money.
According to a report by The Hindu, Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut alleged that candidates were offered up to ₹5 crore to exit the race.
In the meantime, Avinash Anant Jadhav of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has filed a writ petition filed in the Bombay High Court seeking judicial intervention to probe the circumstances behind these mass withdrawals.
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Yadgir: Two KBJNL engineers arrested by Lokayukta for bribery
Yadgir: Lokayukta police on Thursday arrested two engineers of the Krishna Bhagya Jala Nigam Limited (KBJNL) on charges of accepting a bribe of Rs 35,000 to clear a contractor’s pending bill.
The arrested officials have been identified as Madhusudhan, Assistant Executive Engineer (AEE), and Manjunath, Junior Engineer (JE), both posted at the KBJNL office in Shahapur.
They had allegedly demanded the bribe from Khasimsab Jalalsab, a contractor, for releasing his pending bill, after which he had made a complaint to the Lokayukta authorities.
As per the report, Madhusudhan was caught while receiving the bribe amount through a UPI transaction at the office on Thursday.
Both officials were taken into custody, and further investigation is underway.
