Bypoll: Chikkaballapur tops in poll code violations

Almost one-third of the 197 complaints of model code of conduct (MCC) violation have been registered in the Chikkaballapur constituency, according to data from the Election Commission.

Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa, his deputy Govind Karjol and Leader of the Opposition Siddaramaiah are among those against whom FIRs are registered for the violations, Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said.

According to data, 67 of the 197 FIRs registered for MCC violation were in Chikkaballapur constituency. Of the 67 complaints, 54 were related to seizure of cash or other items. Hoskote had the second highest number of FIRs registered with 32, of which 26 were related to seizure of cash or other items.

Apart from the 197 FIRs registered, 30 cases were pending and FIRs on the same will be registered shortly, Kumar said.

During the course of the campaign, seizures worth Rs 10.70 cr were made by enforcement agencies of which 3.78 cr was seized in Hunsur constituency alone. Of the amount, Rs 2.07 cr in cash, Rs 72 lakh worth liquor and Rs 98.82 lakh worth freebies were seized by officials. KR Pura was second, where 1.37 cr worth liquor was seized by the officials.

To a question, Kumar said that the Election Commission has taken all cases of MCC violation into cognisance and had registered a complaint even against Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa. The complaint was in connection to his remarks where he had allegedly urged members of Lingayat community to vote en masse for BJP.

Similarly, an FIR was registered against Deputy Chief Minister Govind Karjol after a video of him distributing money surfaced. A case was filed against Opposition leader Siddaramaiah for allegedly asking voters to take money from the rival party candidates but vote for his party.

Elections in numbers

Total number of contesting candidates - 165
Male - 156
Female - 9

Total voters
Male - 19.25 lakh
Female - 18.52 lakh
Others - 414
Service voters - 4,711
Total - 37.82 lakh

Number of polling stations - 4,185
Number of personnel deployed - 42,509

Seizures
Cash seized - 4.16 cr
Liquor seized - 4.58 cr
Narcotics seized - 4,950
Freebie seized - 1.95 cr

Total - 10.7 cr