BENGALURU: Deputy CM and KPCC president DK Shivakumar on Sunday held a meeting of hundreds of aspirants for Congress tickets to contest the polls to five city corporations under the Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA) jurisdiction. Addressing a gathering at Bharat Jodo Bhavan of KPCC, he gave a clarion call to the Congress rank and file to be alert on deletion of voters during Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
“I just want to win GBA with more seats. I have formed a five-person committee, including former BBMP mayors.We will form a manifesto. I will call all those who have officially conducted the voter list survey. The SIR poses a big threat as it involves deletion of voters and those who want to vote should apply again to be included in the electoral roll,” he suggested. “There is a difference between the State Election Commission and Central Election Commission, and we will discuss SIR in the assembly too.”
He informed that the mapping of electors was going on, with 42 per cent having been completed in Bengaluru. After mapping, officials will ask for documents again, he said.
He instructed Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of the party to conduct mapping properly, warning that those who fail to do so will be suspended. “Booth Level Officials (BLOs) who do not cooperate will also face the music,” he warned.
As the party has already filed a complaint with the Election Commission with regard to irregularities in SIR, Shivakumar advised party workers to stage protests if Assistant Returning Officers don’t conduct the revision properly. He pointed out that there were instances of members of the same family being distributed in different wards to create confusion, and attributed it to the party’s dismal performance during the last BBMP polls.
“There is a Congress government in place, don’t worry, maintain your dignity and stage a protest,” Shivakumar advised. “Likewise, last year, we didn’t get many seats in Bengaluru because of the fraud by Chilume Trust.”
‘Don’t worry about residents’
Shivakumar downplayed the role of residents of apartments in Bengaluru in the polls. “They don’t vote, we don’t get their votes, so don’t worry about them,” he said.
He hoped the guarantee committees will work actively during the polls. “We will give smart ID cards to women who travel in buses under Shakti scheme as they should feel it is worth it, as the BJP is also saying the guarantees should be revised,” he said.