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3 days before Karnataka polls, Congress moves Election Commission alleging voter ID scam

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Congress alleges nearly 10,000 voter IDs found in a BJP member’s house in Bengaluru, but BJP says apartment owner has no link with the party.

New Delhi: Just three days before of the Karnataka assembly polls, a delegation of senior Congress leaders has submitted a memorandum to the Election Commission, alleging a voter ID scam in the state.

The move comes after nearly 10,000 voter IDs were recovered from an apartment in Bengaluru, allegedly belonging to former BJP corporator Manjula Nanjamari, Tuesday night.

Although it has not been ascertained yet whether the voters IDs are genuine or not, both BJP and Congress are blaming each other for the alleged scam.

“We have filed an FIR in this connection. It is being investigated and monitored directly by the Election Commission,” Karnataka’s chief electoral officer Sanjiv Kumar said at a press conference late Tuesday.

“This is certainly a serious matter; we can’t take a decision here. An appropriate decision will be taken in the next 24 hours,” he added.

In a meeting with EC officials Wednesday, the Congress leaders alleged that the apartment belonged to a BJP member, and its tenant is an active BJP member as well.

Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma later told mediapersons, “The central government with the help of central agencies, including the income tax department, is trying to subvert free and fair elections in Karnataka.”

BJP’s counter-attack

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at an election rally in Chikkamagaluru, Karnataka, Wednesday afternoon that “Congress fears defeat in these elections. They are spreading lies that there would be a hung assembly in Karnataka”.

Giving a new twist, the BJP has alleged that 20,000 “fake” voter IDs were recovered from an apartment, along with business cards of some Congress workers. It has also demanded countermanding of elections in Rajarajeshwari Nagar assembly seat where the alleged incident happened.

But Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said BJP is trying to sensationalise the matter and accused it of “enacting a drama”.

Speaking to the media, union minister Prakash Javadekar said Manjula Nanjamari is no longer associated with the BJP and that she has joined the Congress.

War of words

However, Surjewala term Javadekar’s statement as lies, saying that BJP was trying to mislead the people by dissociating itself from the ex-BJP corporator.

“Prakash Javadekar ji, in the rebuttal to the Congress party’s specific assertion, had the audacity to lie, and mislead the people of Karnataka by saying Manjula Nanjamari did not belong to BJP,” Surjewala said.

He further alleged that Najamari had rented out the flat to one Rakesh, also a BJP member.

Meanwhile, Nanjamari’s son Sridhar Nanjamari told ThePrint that Rakesh is his cousin and he had nothing to do with the apartment where the voter IDs were allegedly recovered.

Sridhar also claimed that both Rakesh and his mother are still a part of the BJP.

Even Rakesh confirmed that he is a ‘ward-member’ of the BJP. “I am not her (Manjula’s) son. She is a distant relative,” Rakesh told ThePrint. “I don’t have anything to do with the apartment; I don’t live there or own it,” he added.

He, however, claimed that he was the one who unearthed the whole incident and alleged that “people from Congress” beat him up, calling him Manjula’s son.

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