BENGALURU: The Karnataka Congress will take out ‘Save Vote, Save Country’ campaign during the Dasara season, with block-level padayatras planned across the state from October 10 to 20 to create awareness about alleged vote theft.
Addressing the media on Thursday KPCC president BK Hariprasad said the padayatras would be held in every block and cover not more than 5 km, beginning from a Mahatma Gandhi or Dr BR Ambedkar statue and culminating at the respective Deputy Commissioner’s office.
Senior leaders at the block level will participate in the marches, following which party workers will meet the DCs, sing the National Anthem and burn an effigy of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, he said.
“During Dasara, we will create awareness among people about the consequences of vote theft,” Hariprasad said.
He said the Congress would conduct more programmes, including public meetings and press conferences, from October 25 to November 25. State leaders would participate in protests in their respective districts, while block presidents and Booth Level Agents-2 would be trained to prevent alleged irregularities in electoral rolls, he added.
The Congress would also identify voters whose names had been deleted through Form 7 and other applications and hold meetings with them, Hariprasad said. “Those whose names had been removed through the ASDDO process would be verified through surveys at the panchayat level,” he added.
Hariprasad alleged that electoral roll manipulation was taking place in several parts of the state. Citing Vijayapura, he claimed that names of living women had been included in death lists and death certificates submitted. In Malleswaram, the party had identified 1,211 allegedly affected votes, while 1,108 applications were submitted in different polling booths on the same day, he claimed.