Voter IDs intensify the battle between BJP and Congress

Bengaluru: The 9896 electors photo identity cards (EPICs) that were confiscated from an apartment in Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency has set off a fresh slew of accusations between the ruling Congress party and the Opposition BJP in Karnataka. Both the parties are accusing each other of election malpractice and have filed petitions with the Election Commission in New Delhi.

Union HRD Minister and BJP State election in charge Prakash Javadekar demanded the countermanding of polls in the constituency because the incident was reflective of the fact that the elections may not be held in a fair manner in that constituency. When Congress leaders blamed the BJP for the incident, he said that it was the BJP which had brought the matter into light, in the first place.

While Mr. Javadekar urged the authorities to impartially question Manjula Nanjamari, the owner of the apartment where the EPICs were found, Union Minister D.V. Sadananda Gowda claimed that Congress leader and MLA from Rajarajeshwarinagar constituency Munirathna was involved in the incident.

Meanwhile, the Congress leaders are also not to be left behind in the allegations for the incident. Leaders Randeep Singh Surjewala and Priyanka Chaturvedi put the blame on the BJP, which was taking such “dramatic” measures in order to counter the defeat it was facing in Karnataka. Mr. Sujrewala alleged that the adopted son of Ms. Nanjamari had contested in the 2015 elections through a BJP ticket, and that they all belonged to the saffron party. He also added that Union Minister Prakash Javadekar and Ananth Kumar were involved in the episode.