BJP demands repoll to BMP Council

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, NOV. 17. Senior leaders of the Karnataka unit of the BJP on Saturday met the State Election Commissioner, Mr. G. M. Muniyappa, and urged him to conduct a re-election to the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BMP) Council in all the 100 wards as the poll officials had allegedly worked for the success of the Congress candidates. They alleged that the officials were guilty of other malpractices also.

Addressing presspersons after submitting the party's memorandum to Mr. Muniyappa, the President of the BJP's State unit, Mr. Basavaraj Patil Sedam, alleged that the authorities had deprived over four lakh voters in Bangalore - 12 per cent of the electorate - of their voting rights.

In the earlier polls, only one or two per cent of the voters had been deprived of their voting rights. Copies of the voters' list provided to the political parties and those given to the polling officials were not the same, he added.

Mr. Sedam said that though details of the persons whose names were missing in the voters' list and instances of rigging, proxy voting and misuse of official machinery such as police and polling officials were given to Mr. Muniyappa, he expressed his inability to annul the election. However, he promised to conduct an inquiry into the alleged malpractices if the BJP gave more details, Mr. Sedam added.

The Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Assembly, Mr. Jagadish Shettar, alleged that the names of 400 to 1,000 voters were removed from the voters' list in each ward, with an ulterior motive of ensuring the election of Congress candidates.

It was a blot on the democratic system, he said and warned that such a situation would only help anti-social elements to vitiate public life.

Mr. D. H. Shankara Murthy, Leader of the BJP in the Legislative Council, said ways to prevent undemocratic developments in elections should be found.

Mr. Sadananda Gowda, Deputy Leader of the BJP in the Legislative Assembly, was present.

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Section  : Southern States
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