BJP’s Siroya seeks probe into ex-minister’s claim of vote purchase to help Siddaramaiah win in polls

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BJP's Siroya seeks probe into ex-minister's claim of vote purchase to help Siddaramaiah win in polls



BENGALURU: BJP Rajya Sabha member Lahar Singh Siroya has urged the Election Commission to take note of former Union Minister C M Ibrahim’s reported remarks on the alleged purchase of votes during the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections to help Siddaramaiah win from Badami segment.In a letter to the ECI on Tuesday, the Rajya Sabha member said Ibrahim, who was Siddaramaiah’s close associate and advisor for decades, has said that he, along with senior Congress leader B B Chimankatti, helped purchase 3,000 votes in 2018, so that Siddaramaiah could scrape through the assembly election from the Badami seat.Siddaramaiah has reportedly denied Ibrahim’s charges.In a post on ‘X’, Siroya said, “In the final count, Shri Siddaramaiah’s victory margin in Badami was a mere 1696 votes. It was a humiliating margin for a sitting chief minister. The NOTA votes, which were 2007, were higher than his victory margin.”Siroya said Ibrahim, who was a “prominent Congress leader in 2018 and by all references and claims, was in charge of his friend’s election,” must explain the source and method of the alleged vote purchase.”Ibrahim will do us a great favour if he tells us how, and from whom, he purchased the 3,000 votes to save his friend. He has also said Shri. Siddaramaiah had paid for this purchase, but took six months to make the payment. The #ECI may want to take note of this claim of gross electoral corruption from someone who has been a lawmaker and a union minister himself, and order an investigation.” Siroya recalled that Siddaramaiah had defeated BJP candidate B Sriramulu in Badami.



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