Bengaluru: ‘Innocent until proven guilty’, seems to be the line people of Rajarajeshwari Nagar followed while voting for Congress candidate Munirathna Naidu, an accused in the case of the recent voter ID scam.
Munirathna secured 1,08,064 votes of the total 2.4 lakh votes polled in the constituency emerging the winner on Thursday.
The opposition BJP secured 82572 votes and the JD(S) - Congress’ alliance partner in the government - came third with 60360 votes. Munirathna had remained the leading candidate from the initial trends.
Earlier this month, Muniratna, the sitting MLA, emerged on the wrong side when more than 9000 voter ID cards were found stacked in an apartment in the area, the reason why polls to this constituency were countermanded.
While the rest of the state voted on May 12, Rajarajeshwari Nagar voted on the 28.
“The day Muniraju was announced as BJP candidate, it led to a lot of problems in the constituency. Unnecessarily, he created a bad name for me by dragging my name in the voter ID scam. If they contested in an honest way, there would be no such issues. I will fight this legally,” said Muniratna after he won.
The victory, while taking Congress’ strength to 79 in the 224-member Assembly, also strengthens the party’s bargain for important portfolios in the coalition government.
The JD(S) which continues to be in a berth sharing discussion with Congress congratuled Muniratna claiming that the candidate also received votes in the name of Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy.
“It was a tough fight but the Congress candidate played smart politics. He campaigned saying Congress was the reason why HD Kumaraswamy became the Chief Minister,” said Tanveer Ahmed, JD(S) spokesperson.
“BJP lost the election is what matters most,” Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had reacted soon after the results were out.
The two parties, which have not come to a consensus to form a government even after a week after Kumaraswamy won the trust vote, are trying their best to keep the BJP out. They are expected to do so at least until the 2019 polls in an effort to present a united opposition.
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