CHIKKAMAGALURU: The recounting of votes in Sringeri Assembly constituency on Saturday left the supporters of the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party on tenterhooks.
The repolling was necessitated as per the High Court order after the losing BJP candidate DN Jeevaraj alleged irregularity in counting of postal ballots in the election held in 2023. Out of 1,822 total postal ballots, 279 votes were rejected.
The Congress candidate had won by 201 votes.
The recounting began at 8 am on Saturday in the presence of election officer Gaurav Shetty, observer Kiran and both the candidates.
When the strong room was opened, the Congress candidate TD Raje Gowda and his polling agent, Sudheerkumar Murolli, alleged that locks and seals of some ballot boxes have been tampered with.
They appealed to the election officer not to go ahead with the recounting but he ruled it out.
The recounting of postal ballots began at 10 am in the IDSG First Grade College.
In the meantime, the Congress supporters began to celebrate claiming that Gowda won by 203 votes after recounting. Gowda, however, appealed to his supporters to maintain peace.
Informed sources, however, said that the recounting was not over.
Congress supporters blocked Kadur Mangaluru Road in front of the IDSG College saying the BJP supporters were allowed near the main gate. On the other hand, the BJP workers blocked the road alleging stoppage of counting.