BENGALURU: In the build-up to their August 5 protest to put the spotlight on the “compromised election machinery”, Congress leaders have upped the ante against “election manipulation” and “vote theft” in certain constituencies in Karnataka, accusing the Election Commission of India of “non-transparency”.
Revenue Minister and Byatrayanpura MLA Krishna Byre Gowda highlighted “severe mismanagement” in the electoral process, especially in urban areas. “I have knocked on the doors of the election commission at least on three or four occasions and they have an attitude that they are high and mighty and are dismissive of complaints.’’
Transport Minister and BTM Layout MLA Ramalinga Reddy too called attention to the deletion of names from the voter list. “I have seen sudden deletion of names of voters in my constituency. Names are even tagged to wrong addresses to confuse voters and this has been observed repeatedly over the years, especially during the poll time,” he said.
“How can we have fair elections with a ‘non-transparent’ election process?’’ questioned Pulakeshinagar MLA Srinivas, while recounting how he had contested the elections from 2013 and 2018 in Mahadevpura and faced voter name deletions, especially in Lakkundi, Bellandur, Marathahalli. “I complained about it to the election authorities in 2013. I was so fed up with the electoral manipulation that I shifted from Mahadevpura to Pulakeshinagar.’’