Bengaluru, May 4 (IANS) Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister and State Congress President, D.K. Shivakumar, on Monday termed the Sringeri recount result as “dangerous for the entire country” and made strong allegations against the BJP.

It can be recalled that in the recounting of postal ballots for Sringeri Assembly segment, BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj has emerged victorious against sitting Congress MLA, T.D. Rajegowda.

Election Officer Gaurav Kumar Shetty officially announced the result on Monday. It can be noted that the process of reverification and recounting of postal ballots in the Sringeri constituency in the 2023 Assembly elections was undertaken on the orders of the Karnataka High Court.

Speaking to the media in Bengaluru, he stated, “The Sringeri recount result is dangerous for the entire country. I did not expect that there would be criminals to this extent in the BJP.”

“In a democracy, victory and defeat are normal. But what has happened here is a conspiracy. It is extremely shocking. We will order an investigation at the government level and also fight this legally,” he said.

He alleged that the incident appeared to be like an “international conspiracy.” “If we had doubts, we would have approached the Supreme Court. Here, the ballot boxes have been opened. By using some people, additional marks have been put on ballot papers that had votes in our favour. After all bundles were declared valid, how did this alteration happen?” he questioned.

He further said that each vote is normally shown to all agents and recorded on camera. “After counting, the bundles are sealed. But later, the bundles were reopened and additional markings were made. A court order was then obtained to count only those ballots,” he stated.

Calling for a detailed probe, Shivakumar said, “Earlier, all parties had signed off stating the results were correct, and records are available with the Election Commission. But changes have emerged during the recount. In some cases, ballot papers have marks for more than one candidate. A complaint has also been filed.”

He added that the Returning Officer should have submitted the results to the court and termed the incident “a blot on the entire state.”

Referring to past incidents, he said, “Earlier, a leader had even swallowed a ballot paper during a cooperative election. Now, similar irregularities have occurred by misusing officials. In another case, Gayathri Shanthagowda’s matter is being stalled in court. Soumya Reddy lost by 12 votes, and that has still not been recounted. How will this be addressed?”

Responding to allegations by JD(S) that the use of ballot papers in local body elections could lead to misuse, he said, “First, let us see whether they will contest elections independently or merge with the BJP.”

–IANS

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