Karnataka Elections: Congress raises alarm over bogus voting; Find out why

Moments ahead of polling in Karnataka, the Congress party raised a concern about bogus voting, alleging the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for ferrying people from Goa to northern Karnataka. While posting the video of Kadamba Transport Corporation buses on Twitter, the Congress party asked why the ruling BJP in Goa is sending people to the poll-bound state. 

Congress party wrote on its official Twitter handle, “Why is the Goa BJP govt sending people from Goa on Kadamba Transport Corporation buses to northern Karnataka tonight? Why??? Is illicit money being transported? Is bogus voting the objective?” 

Congress leader Pawan Khera said that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's rally held in Karnataka last week, similarly over 100 buses ferried people to Karnataka. "Why is Goa BJP Govt sending people from Goa by Kadamba Transport Corporation Buses to Northern Karnataka tonight? Last week too for PM’s rally, people were ferried in over 100 buses from Goa," Khera said. 

'This is preposterous' said Congress MP Randeep Singh Surjewala while tagging the Karnataka DGP in his Twitter post. "This is a heinous crime. Is illicit money being transported? Where is Karnataka Police? What’s happening at Whistling Woodzs Jungle Resort at Dandeli, Uttar Kannada District, Dandeli, Karnataka? Has Vishvajeet Rane booked 6 rooms here? What’s the purpose? Will ECI act?" Surjewala tweeted.  

Karnataka Elections 2023: Cong-BJP lock horns

While BJP is eyeing a comeback in the southern state, the Congress is seeking to wrest power from the saffron camp. Since the announcement of the Karnataka polls, both parties have carried out high-octane campaigns to woo voters. Karnataka also witnessed a series of attacks and counter attacks from both sides that grew increasingly with the Bajrang Dal and '40 per cent' corruption charges on the BJP taking centre stage.

Karnataka Elections 2023: 2615 candidates in fray

The Karnataka assembly polls are being conducted in a single phase on May 10 to elect the candidates for 224 seats. Voting is taking place from 7 am to 6 pm. According to the EC, as many as 5,31,33,054 electors are eligible to cast their votes in 58,545 polling stations across the state. In the 224 assembly constituencies, a total of 2,615 candidates are in the fray. 

The Election Commission data also shows that among the electors, 2,67,28,053 are male, 2,64,00,074 are female and 4,927 are in the 'others' category. While among the candidates contesting the elections, 2,430 are male, 184 are female and one is from the third gender.