Addressing some comments that have come up: 1) Yes, BTM and P’Nagar also share a counting booth as Jnr. But there are constituency wise counting pools. The concern raised - WHY not just Ramlinga Reddy but also his son and some cong leaders being in the Jayanagar counting pool.
Given the power RR yields in Jayanagar (he was the MLA once) and even got a corporator to defect in 2018 election from BJP to Cong - his presence in the jnr pool (apparently on cctv) can be VERY worrying.
2) On what @Tejasvi_Surya was present - he will have to answer, my understanding was that he was present to counter RR’s undue influence within the Jayanagar counting pool.
3) On this non-gazetted vote issue that congress is tweeting to me. Pls send some rule/law on this.
Happy to go back and forth. But I’m guessing more deets will emerge sooner than later. For now, Congress celebrate your statewide 136 and BJP reflect. Leave Jayanagar be!
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If you are concerned about the future of bengaluru, read this thread:
Our beautiful #Jayanagar, known for its old world charm has been in the news for wrong reasons. We witnessed a brand of politics we do not deserve.
Across party affiliations, I urge you to read
Jayanagar holds a very special place in the heart of many bengaluru nivasis. Sir MV planned parts of the constituency and it earned the title of the first planned layout in ASIA!
Many of us born and raised in these areas feel a sense of duty towards this legacy.
As a proud Jayanagar voter who has been on the ground for the last 4 months urging people of all party affiliations to vote, it pains me to see what is happening.
The MLA election of @CKRBJP is marred in controversy due to unchallenged hold of bengaluru by known, age old force
I sincerely engaged with this person who questioned my take on the law. Clearly stated that I am also researching and understanding better. Congress claims that the issue was never recounting (which they paraded in the media before) but of non-gazetted postal votes.
I cited the law (pasted in full courtesy Vinay), that there are many options for verification of postal ballot, (c) is gazetted officer for voter on election duty and (e) specifically has NO mention of gazetted. This point has been twisted to defame when I engaged
Last thread on the issue, after which I shall be on a flight & can’t do much for a few hours. #Jayanagar
Congress party is bringing in the issue of non-gazetted officer. I was asked for a clarification on this by folks in the media (commend them reaching out for diverse views).
But I didn’t have much clarity, until I read through the relevant rules. Request those commenting to do so as well.
My perception (with the caveat that I am not a lawyer and those who are in the legal profession might come to more nuanced conclusions):
There is absolutely no compulsion of ‘Gazetted’ officer to verify a postal ballot. As per
Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 (Statutory Rules and Order) no such rule.
The contest was between BJP candidate @CKRBJP Ramamurthy (ex-corporator) and INC candidate @Sowmyareddyr (incumbent MLA and daughter of congress leader Ramlinga Reddy).
As the counting of votes progressed, it was apparent that the margin of victory in #Jayanagar would be small.
Sowmya Reddy’s lead of a mere 160 votes was prematurely celebrated as a victory by Congress party. BUT there was no certificate of victory issues by the EC authorities.
What happened internally was very different - a rule in the ECI handbook for counting came into force.