K’taka Cong silent on alleged distribution of gift cards among voters

Bengaluru, May 30 (SocialNews.XYZ) Karnataka Congress is silent over the allegation of winning elections in Karnataka by illegally distributing special cards with Rs 5,000 balance that could be used in malls.

Former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy has alleged that the Congress distributed such cards in 45 to 50 Assembly segments in elections. "Mr Siddaramaiah, if you have courage get this allegation investigated," he challenged. The allegations were made last week.

Kumaraswamy further maintained that the cards were distributed in a planned manner few hours before the elections. The cards have QR codes and this was a serious election illegality. He also maintained that this was responsible for the defeat of his son Nikhil Kumaraswamy too in Ramnagar seat.

It is alleged that the cards were designed in such a way that they only get en-cashed if a Congress candidate won the elections. This is a big scam. In all 45 to 50 Assembly seats, 60,000 such coupons in every Assembly constituency were distributed, he said.

Congress party has in turn asked JD(S) when it is going to dissolve the party as it had lost the confidence of the people of the state. JD(S) party which was aimed at winning 45 to 50 seats managed to get 19 seats in the Assembly elections. The elections saw a voter turnout of 73.19 per cent, the highest ever recorded in the history of Legislative Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The Congress won 135 seats and achieved their biggest win since the 1989 elections. The BJP, which hoped to beat anti-incumbency and win elections on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah's campaigning blitzkrieg, suffered a humiliating defeat and won 66 seats.

The Congress managed to get 42.88 per cent of votes, while BJP got 36 per cent. JD (S) polled 13.29 per cent of votes.

Source: IANS