The Karnataka High Court has instructed the re-verification of 279 postal ballots in the Sringeri Assembly constituency. This decision follows a petition challenging the election of Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda. The re-examination process is to be completed within two weeks, as directed by the High Court after a hearing on Monday.
The order for re-verification stems from an election dispute involving Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda and BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj. The bench, led by Justice R. Nataraj, passed the order while considering a petition filed by the defeated BJP candidate, D.N. Jeevaraj. These 279 rejected postal ballots hold significance as their review could potentially impact the election’s final outcome.
Allegations have been made by Jeevaraj claiming irregularities in the counting of postal ballots. He contends that Rajegowda won the 2023 Assembly election by a narrow margin of about 200 votes. Jeevaraj also accuses the winning candidate of election overspending and asserts possessing evidence to support this claim. The High Court has allowed an interim stay on its order for two weeks to facilitate the filing of an appeal.
