Youth Congress poll results on hold over fraud charges

The Congress is learnt to have put the results of the recent elections to some district office-bearers of Youth Congress on hold following complaints of electoral malpractice.

The results of elections to the posts of office-bearers of Bengaluru and Hubballi cities and Kolar district have been put in abeyance.

The oath-taking ceremony of the state office-bearers of Youth Congress scheduled on June 4 has been postponed to June 7 for the same reason. It is said the newly elected state office-bearers, including the president, will not be allowed to assume office till an enquiry is done.

The party has already appointed a three-member enquiry committee to look into the charges of electoral malpractice. Many of the aggrieved Youth Congress leaders, including newly elected state and district-level office-bearers, complained that the ballot boxes were tampered with in order to rig the elections. They also provided audio and video clippings as evidence to substantiate their charges, sources in the Congress said.

The aggrieved leaders have demanded that the party should either order re-counting of votes or declare the elections null and void.

The elections to the posts of new office-bearers were held recently and Basana Gouda Badarli was elected the state Youth Congress president. Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy’s daughter Sowmya Reddy has been elected as the vice-president of Bengaluru city Youth Congress Committee.