RS Poll: JD(S) creates ruckus over additional voting chance to 2 Congress MLAs

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Bengaluru, March 23, 2018 (TOI): Having fielded three candidates from Karnataka for the Rajya Sabha polls, the ruling Congress party has run into an obstacle with the JDS raising a ruckus at the polling station at Vidhana Soudha over two Congress MLAs having been given a second chance at casting their ballot.

Early on Friday morning, Revenue minister Kagodu Thimappa and Congress MLA from Gurmitkal Baburao Chinchansoor had wrongfully cast their votes when the initial ballot paper was given to them.

No sooner did Thimappa seek a replacement ballot paper, JDS polling agent H D Revanna objected to it.

According to sources, Thimappa wrongfully tick marked in the box for the Congress candidate instead of writing the numerical number 1 and 2 as his preferred choice of candidates.

However, led by H D Kumarswamy, close to 20 of the 30 JDS MLAs entered the polling station, Room 106 at the Vidhana Soudha, and staged a dharna.
Polling was halted after the JDS blocked the pathway.

Later, the party submitted a memorandum to chief election officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar seeking the countermanding of the elections due to “gross violations” by the returning officer and Assembly secretary S Murthy.

Speaking to the media Kumaraswamy said chief minister Siddaramaiah as part of his “Bhagya” schemes has provided even “Mathadhara Bhagya” in the state for its own legislators.

“The Assembly personnel and the election officers have colluded with the Congress government to curb the conscience of the Congress MLAs who wanted to cross vote. As many as 18 Congress MLAs wanted to cross vote but have been restricted with the action of the election officers,” he claimed.

Kumaraswamy threatened to boycott the elections and was holding meeting with his legislators to decide the next course of action.

Kumaraswamy said the CEO had conveyed that he will send out a report on the incident to the election commission of India (ECI) and seek their directions.
“However, he has not stopped the election process. It is quite baffling,” lamented Kumaraswamy.

Later, chief minister Siddaramaiah who came to cast his vote expressed his confidence that all three Congress candidates will win the polls.

On the JDS protest and memorandum to the EC, Siddaramaiah said: “There is all option in the election rules to seek a second ballot in case of any error in the first ballot paper. There is no controversy.”

The Congress party considered the JDS outburst as a reaction to their inability to conjure the votes for getting their official candidate B M Farook elected.

Meanwhile, five of the seven rebel JDS candidates who are scheduled to join Congress officially on March 25 in Mysuru, cast their ballot.

“We have cast our ballot and showed it to JDS polling agent as to whom we have voted for,” said Nagamangala MLA N Cheluvarayswamy and Chamarajpet MLA BZ Zameer Ahmad Khan.

The seven rebel MLAs are scheduled to meet in the evening to decide on when to resign from the JDS.

Meanwhile, Congress Belur MLA Rudresh Gowda was incapacitated to vote as he was admitted to the hospital due to illness.