Karnataka HC to hear petition seeking CM Siddaramaiah's disqualification

A person has moved the Karnataka High Court seeking the annulment of Chief Minister Siddaramaiah's MLA seat alleging the luring of voters by distributing Congress Guarantee Cards during the recently concluded Karnataka Assembly elections.

The petition filed by a voter from the Varuna constituency, KM Shankara, which came up for hearing on Friday, alleges that the Congress party promised freebies for luring voters.

Accordingly, the High Court adjourned the hearing instructing the office to rectify the objections and listed the matter for hearing on July 28.

Five guarantee schemes helped the Congress party to get a clear majority in Karnataka. The guarantee cards signed by CM Siddaramaiah and Deputy CM DK Shivakumar were distributed across the state before the election to attract the voters that they will implement these five projects if the Congress came to power.

The plea challenged the election of Siddaramaiah from the Varuna constituency under Section 123 (1) of the Representation of the People Act which prohibits luring. It alleged that the Congress party has lured the voters by distributing guarantee cards.

Therefore, K.M Sankara has filed an application in the High Court seeking to invalidate Siddaramaiah's MLA election candidature.