BENGALURU: The last date for nominations for the Chincholi by-polls are over, with the BJP on Wednesday making a serious allegation against Congress candidate Subhash Rathod. In a formal complaint to Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Sanjiv Kumar, they alleged that Rathod had grossly violated the model code of conduct and demanded that he be criminally prosecuted and his nomination be annulled.
The complaint was filed by former MLC Ashwathnarayan, in which BJP spokesman S Prakash alleges that the Chincholi (SC) MLA candidate has his name listed on voter lists in four different places in Gulbarga. First, it was registered in ward 78 Aland, ward 105 Gulbarga South, ward 157 Chincholi and ward 165 Gulbarga South. They said he possessed four different voter cards with four different addresses. The complaint was lodged in Bengaluru, with authorities in Gulbarga urging that Rathod’s candidature be rejected.
It may be recalled that Rathod switched to Congress from BJP. If his nomination is rejected, it will be a cakewalk for the BJP here, as the JDS has not filed any candidates due to the coalition ‘dharma.’
When contacted, Rathod said, “I served as Zilla Panchayat member in Aland, so my name is there, but I don’t have a voter ID card from Aland. I surrendered it and the assistant commissioner had it deleted.’’
Now, with regard to Gulbarga, Rathod said, “I have a house there and I used to be a voter there too, but not anymore. I surrendered it to the commissioner some years ago, around 2016. ‘’ Asked about his name figuring on voter lists in all these places, he said, “That is not my problem.’ The commissioner and assistant commissioner in Gulbarga are aware that my name needs to be delected, and they will do it. I have the cancellation letters with me.’’