BENGALURU: State BJP and JDS leaders on Friday hit out at the Congress for its campaign against alleged vote theft, stating that Chief Minister Siddaramaiah himself had admitted that the Congress won the Koppal Lok Sabha seat in 1991 by resorting to electoral fraud.
Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R Ashoka said Siddaramaiah himself had admitted that he was defeated in the 1991 Lok Sabha elections due to “cheating”. Ashoka was referring to Siddaramaiah’s remarks on Thursday that he lost the 1991 Lok Sabha elections because of “cheating”. He had contested as Janata Dal candidate then. Congress candidate Basavaraj Patil Anwari had defeated Siddaramaiah.
Ashoka said Siddaramaiah should clarify on the alleged ballot rigging by the Congress in previous elections. Ashoka said not just the 1991 Lok Sabha elections, Siddaramaiah should also issue a clarification on former Congress leader CM Ibrahim’s statement about purchasing 3,000 votes during the Assembly election in Badami constituency. Siddaramaiah contested from Badami in 2018.
Meanwhile, BJP IT cell in-charge Amit Malviya slammed Siddaramaiah and said, “The irony is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Siddaramaiah is in Bihar for a ‘Vote Adhikar’ rally — marching with the same Congress he once accused of electoral fraud in the 1991 Koppal Lok Sabha polls against Basavaraj Patil Anwari.”
Siddaramaiah cried ‘vote chori’ because he lost on ballot papers. “Now, Rahul Gandhi is crying wolf about ‘electoral fraud’ only because people of India have decisively thrown the Congress out of power through the democratic process and the unhackable EVMs,” he said.
Malviya said, “This isn’t about democracy; it is about a family business that has lost its relevance. The ‘Vote Adhikar’ rally is a masterclass in hypocrisy and a pathetic attempt to delegitimize the very democratic process that has shown them their true place.”