Bengaluru, May 5 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday levelled serious allegations of electoral malpractice in the Sringeri Assembly constituency, claiming that a “criminal conspiracy” had taken place in the handling of postal ballots and vote counting.

The reverification and recounting of postal ballots in the Sringeri Assembly constituency from the 2023 Assembly polls was undertaken following directions of the High Court. After the recount, the BJP candidate emerged victorious against the sitting Congress MLA.

Addressing a press conference at his official residence ‘Krishna’, Siddaramaiah said that Congress candidate T.D. Rajegowda had originally won the 2023 Assembly election by a margin of 201 votes, securing 59,171 votes against BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj’s 58,970 votes.

He pointed out that of Rajegowda’s total votes, 58,602 came through EVMs and 569 through postal ballots, while Jeevaraj secured 58,278 EVM votes and 692 postal votes.

All these votes had been declared valid at the time, with election officials and counting agents signing off on the results, he said.

However, following a petition filed by Jeevaraj in the Karnataka High Court alleging irregularities, the court ordered a recount on March 6.

Siddaramaiah said the recount drastically altered the postal ballot figures.

“In the recount, only 314 postal votes of Rajegowda were considered valid, while 255 were declared invalid. On the other hand, Jeevaraj received 690 postal votes. This clearly indicates a criminal conspiracy and systematic vote theft,” he alleged.

He further claimed that around 250 votes polled in favour of Rajegowda had been deliberately tampered with. “This is nothing short of vote robbery,” the Chief Minister said.

Siddaramaiah noted that after counting, all election records are sealed and stored in trunks. He alleged that the BJP, which was in power both in the state and at the Centre at the time, may have misused officials to tamper with ballot papers.

“This happened under what they called a ‘double-engine government’. The involvement of staff in altering ballot papers is evident. It is a criminal conspiracy,” he said.

He also pointed out that all 170 postal ballots received by Rajegowda in the third round, which were earlier treated as valid, have now been declared invalid in the recount.

Questioning the process, Siddaramaiah said Congress agent Sudhir Kumar Maroli and other counting agents had signed the documents in 2023 confirming the validity of the votes. “If the votes were invalid, objections could have been raised then itself. Why were no objections raised at that time?” he asked.

The Chief Minister further stated that election observers were present during the recount and had reportedly written to the Election Commission flagging a serious criminal conspiracy.

He said the postal ballots should have been sent for forensic examination, and the declaration of results should have been left to the court. “Instead, the returning officer hurriedly declared the results without obtaining approval from the election observer. Whoever is responsible must be punished,” he asserted.

Referring to past controversies, Siddaramaiah accused the BJP of attempting to manipulate voter lists through an organisation named ‘Chilume’ and alleged that genuine voters had been excluded in places like Aland.

“The BJP has no faith in democracy or the Constitution. They do not believe in free and fair elections and will not hesitate to commit such offences,” he said, adding that people would “teach them a lesson” in the future.

He said that an FIR has been registered based on a complaint filed by Rajegowda and demanded an impartial investigation into the matter.

On a political note, Siddaramaiah said the Congress had won both the Bagalkot and Davanagere bye-elections. He remarked that BJP leaders had earlier projected these bypolls as a direction indicator for the 2028 Assembly elections.

“By their own logic, it now means Congress will return to power in 2028,” he said.

He added that Congress had won three consecutive bye-elections, which reflected public approval of the government’s programmes and guarantee schemes. “People have shown trust and affection towards us. Congress is a party that delivers on its promises,” he said.

Siddaramaiah also acknowledged that votes had gone to the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) and said the party would review where it fell short.

–IANS

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