(Our Special Correspondent)
Bengaluru: The Election Commission accepted the nomination papers filed by Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief DK Shivakumar on April 21, clearing the way for a high-stakes contest between him and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Minister R Ashoka. The acceptance by the Election Commission drew the curtains on an episode that saw Shivakumar’s brother also file his nomination papers for the Kanakapura constituency as a “precautionary measure.” Earlier in the day, Shivakumar held a press conference to allege a conspiracy by the BJP to keep him away from politics by misusing officials.
A day after his brother and Lok Sabha MP of Bengaluru Rural, DK Suresh filed his nomination papers from the Kanakapura constituency on April 20, Shivakumar said it was a ‘precautionary measure’ taken to ensure one of them would be able to contest as he suspected attempts were being made to ensure he did not contest.
Shivakumar, who is the sitting MLA of the Kanakapura constituency, had filed his nomination papers a couple of days earlier. He will be facing BJP Minister R Ashoka, who is contesting from his own constituency Padmanabhanagar, as well as Kanakapura, considered to be the bastion of the brothers, Shivakumar and Suresh. It was speculated that Suresh would contest from Padmanabhanagar as a counter to Ashoka, but he surprised everyone when he filed his nomination papers quietly in Kanakapura on the last day of filing nominations on April 20. Addressing the media on Friday, Shivakumar said that there was a concentrated effort from the BJP to keep him away from politics. “They are misusing officers. Since we received information on this, we wanted Suresh to file his nomination papers from Kanakapura,” he said. He said he was aware of the tactics against him through his friends in the government and media, and they had warned him about it. April 21 is the day of scrutiny of the nominations and April 24 is the last day to withdraw the candidature. The polls are scheduled to be held on May 10.
Shivakumar said that modern-day technology allowed them to see who was downloading information (election affidavits) put up on the Election Commission. “It has already been reported in the media that the BJP cell is looking at the documents I have submitted. They are trying to misuse the officers. I know how to fill out the application and the documents I have submitted are all correct. But I don’t know what BJP will do. They tried to stop me from contesting the previous elections as well. They are trying to harass me,” he alleged.
Shivakumar maintained that he was not worried about his nomination papers being rejected.
The senior Congress leader is facing a host of charges from various investigative agencies starting including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the Enforcement Directorate, the Income Tax Department as well as the Karnataka Lokayukta police. Most of these charges pertain to possessing assets disproportionate to the sources of income. He has also filed a petition in the court challenging the Karnataka government’s permission to the CBI to proceed against him in a case registered against him under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
