Inducements Offering Charge Rocks Karnataka: Congress Workers Gave Gift Cards for Vote, Claims BJP

Lok Sabha Election 2024: As the voting is underway in Bangalore Central and Bangalore Rural seats, two of the 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka undergoing polls in the second phase, allegations of offering inducements to voters against Congress workers emerged fresh, triggering political slugfest on voting day. 

The BJP candidate for Bangalore Central seat, PC Mohan, accused the Congress workers of distributing cash among voters in the Gandhinagar Assembly constituency on Thursday late night, a day before polling in the seat.

Further accusing the Congress of distributing gift cards in the houses of voters in Bangalore Rural, the BJP leader apprised the Election Commission of the violation of model code of conduct in the constituencies.

In the video accessed by Republic, Congress workers, alleged to be, were caught distributing gift cards to voters at their doorsteps in the Bangalore Central constituency.  

The Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seat had been the BJP's stronghold since its creation in 2008 and PC Mohan has won the elections thrice from the seat. In 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP has placed its trust again on Mohan. He has been pitted against Congress party's Mansoor Ali Khan.

Split in seven phases, the 2024 Lok Sabha elections saw first phase of voting last friday for 102 seats and 21 states and Union Territories. The voter turnout was recorded at 65.5 per cent.

In the second phase of polls, voting is underway for all 20 seats of Kerala, 14 of the 28 seats in Karnataka, 13 seats in Rajasthan, 8 seats each in Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, 7 seats in Madhya Pradesh, 5 seats each in Assam and Bihar, 3 seats each in Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, and 1 seat each in Manipur, Tripura, and Jammu and Kashmir.