Karnataka RS polls: JD(S) claims EC official allowed two Congress members to recast votes after they 'cross-voted'

Bengaluru: The JD(S) on Friday demanded countermanding of election to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka, alleging that the returning officer in “collusion” with the ruling Congress in the state allowed two of its members to recast their vote after they “cross-voted”. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, however, termed the charge as “false”, saying before casting their votes, the two MLAs realised they had made a “mistake” on the ballot paper, so they took another one for which “there is a provision in law.” Five candidates, three from the Congress and one each from  the BJP and the JD(S) are in the fray for the four seats. As the poll process was underway, JD(S) leader and former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy claimed that two senior Congress MLAs had “cross voted” against their party’s official nominees by marking for another candidate on the ballot paper. However, on the request of the ruling party’s agent, the returning officer later allowed both the candidates to vote once again by issuing them a fresh ballot paper, he alleged. [caption id=“attachment_4383669” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah. Twitter@siddaramaiah[/caption] “Minister Kagodu Thimmappa, who was a former speaker, and MLA Baburao Chinchansur, both of them have cross voted in the first ballot paper, then they have shown it to their agent.” “After seeing the cross voting the agent protested. Then the Returning Officer allowed these two voters to vote once again, second vote,” Kumaraswamy told reporters in Bengaluru. Stating that the returning officer had considered the request for second vote with the a fresh ballot paper, he said “we are protesting …illegal voting is going on.” The observer from the Election Commission has been requested to “countermand” the election process, he added. Four Rajya Sabha seats from Karnataka will fall vacant early next month following the retirement of sitting members. Claiming that both Thimmappa and Chinchanasur wanted  to vote against Congress candidates, Kumaraswamy alleged that the Returning Officer is “colluding” with the government. Rejecting the charge, Siddaramaiah said: “It appears they (JDS) are desperate…they have  tried every thing, they had gone to the court (on seven rebel JDS MLA issue), they failed in the court, and desperately they are making these allegations.” The chief minister also expressed confidence that all  three Congress candidates will win the election, saying “we have  enough votes on our side.” The Congress has fielded Dr L Hanumanthaiah, Dr Syed  Naseer Hussain and GC Chandrasekhar. The BJP has nominated Rajeev Chandrashekar, who was an independent Rajya Sabha member, and  the JD(S) nominee is B M Farooq. With their current strength in the Assembly, two candidates of the Congress and one from BJP can get elected  comfortably. However, the fight will be between the third candidate of the Congress and the JD(S)’ Farooq. Here too, the arithmetic favours the Congress, with the  party hoping for support from seven rebel JD(S) MLAs, who are  expected to join the ruling party after the Rajya Sabha polls. It also expects support of MLAs from smaller parties -  BR Patil (KJP), B Nagendra (independent) and Ashok Kheny (KMP), who have recently joined the Congress. According to reports, the Congress’ decision to field its  third candidate came as a blow to JD(S) that had hoped the Congress would support its candidate, keeping in mind the larger picture of post Assembly poll scenario . Assembly elections in the state are expected in the next two months. In the 225-member Assembly (including one nominated),  each candidate will require 44 votes to win a Rajya Sabha  seat. At present the party wise strength in the Assembly is Congress- 122, BJP- 43, JD(S)- 37, BSR Congress- 3, KJP- 2, KMP- 1,  independents- 8, Speaker- 1, nominated- 1, vacant- 7. Farooq had earlier too contested from JD(S) during  the biennial elections to fill four Rajya Sabha seats from  Karnataka in June 2016 but had lost, as eight MLAs from the party voted in support of Congress candidate.