The Congress party in Karnataka has faced a setback as the High Court has ordered a recount of votes in the Malur assembly constituency, located in the Kolar district. In the 2023 elections, KY Nanje Gowda of the Congress secured a victory, defeating BJP’s Manjunath Gowda by a narrow margin of 248 votes. Manjunath Gowda challenged the election results in court.
Manjunath Gowda’s petition raised concerns about the vote counting process, alleging violations of election rules. He claimed that the Returning Officer (RO) and their team of election officials obtained signatures from the petitioner’s counting agents before opening the EVMs, contrary to Rule 66A of the Election Conduct Rules, 1961. He sought to present all election-related documents, videos, and other materials before the court, along with a demand for a recount.
The High Court noted that if the District Election Officer had presented a video recording of the counting process, these allegations could have been easily verified, as video recording of the counting process is mandatory according to the Election Commission’s guidelines. The court has stayed its order on Nanje Gowda’s petition for 30 days, allowing him to approach the Supreme Court.
Malur is one of the 224 assembly seats in the Karnataka Assembly, situated in the Kolar district. The constituency has a significant population of Scheduled Caste (SC) voters (46,451) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) voters (17,264). Elections have been held here four times. In 2008, the BJP won with Krishnaiya Shetty. In 2013, JD(S)’s Manjunath Gowda emerged victorious. In 2018, the Congress won with Nanje Gowda. He won again in 2023, but now, the court’s decision mandates a recount.
In the 2008 elections, the BJP’s vote share was 65.83%, while the JD(S) secured 21.77%. The Congress had the lowest vote share at 7.99%. In 2013, the Congress’s vote share was 14.09%, and the JD(S)’s was 40.28%. In 2018, the Congress got 46.9%, BJP 14.81%, and JD(S) 35.8%. In 2023, Congress had 29.4%, BJP 29.3%, and JD(S) 10.2%.
In the 2023 election, the Congress candidate received 50,955 votes. The BJP candidate received 50,707 votes. Independent candidate Vijaykumar Hudi came third with 49,362 votes.