Hours before the election in Karnataka began on Wednesday, the Congress raised an alarm that buses from Goa were spotted in northern Karnataka.
Sharing a video of a bus, the Congress asked whether illicit money is being transported, or whether the objective is bogus voting in the state. Congress’s Randeep Singh Surjewala suspected a ‘resort’ link even before the voting began and asked whether Goa minister Visvajeet Rane booked six rooms at Whistling Woods Jungle Resort at Dandeli.
“Where is Karnataka Police? Will ECI act?” Surjewala tweeted hinting at an early entry of the resort politics this time.
Karnataka saw a high-octane campaigning ahead of the do-or-die battle in Karnataka with the opinion polls heavily tilting in favour of the Congress. BJP and Congress leaders engaged in a bitter war of words with the Election Commission issuing a notice to the offenders which include Congress’s Sonia Gandhi — for her ‘sovereignty’ comment.
Congress’s manifesto promising a ban on the Bajrang Dal, if voted to power, was another flashpoint as PM Modi urged Karnataka voters to invoke Bajrang Bali while voting.
In a last-minute fight, the Congress on Tuesday approached the Election Commission after PM Modi made a fresh appeal to voters after the campaigning ended. In a memorandum to the poll watchdog, Congress general secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala termed the speech “brazen, deliberate and calculated violation of the model code of conduct as well as the provisions of the Representation of the People Act” by Modi and other leaders of the BJP.
The polling for the 224-seat Assembly began at 7am. The key constituencies are Varuna, Kanakapura, Shiggaon, Hubli-Darwad, Channapatna, Shikaripura, Chittapur, Ramanagara, and Chikmagalur. Congress leader and former chief minister Siddaramaiah is contesting from Varuna which is also his sitting seat with a winning streak starting from 2008.