Republic TV has revealed that a certain national party is engaging in ‘need-based social profiling’ which essentially translates to customizing bribes for voters to buy off votes ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Elections. According to the report, a national party was hiring agents to manage votes by slum dwellers.
#BribeForVotes | WATCH: Here’s how poorest of poor were to be exploited for electoral gains in poll-bound Karnatakahttps://t.co/41FOKnhGew
— Republic (@republic) May 9, 2018
According to the expose, each voter was linked to a sop to be given. The business card of a Congress MLA was also discovered at the flat where thousands of voter cards were discovered. The voter cards were to be handed over to those they belonged to on the day of the polling. Two people, Venkatesh and Raghu, have been arrested in connection with the incident and FIR has been registered against 6 people.
Tanvir Ahmed of the JDS has condemned the Congress government over the incident. He says that based on the prima facie evidence, he assumes that the Congress party is involved in the scam although the Election Commission is yet to name the political party involved. He says that Siddaramaiah and Rahul Gandhi should take responsibility for the scam if it is indeed revealed that the Congress party is involved.
The Election Commission has apparently claimed that they have discovered goods and business cards related to a very particular national party. According to video evidence that has surfaced, multiple visiting cards of a Congress candidate, Maniratna, was found at a house that was raided.
IN IMAGE: Congress visiting card at #BribeForVotes raid site. Is this the biggest smoking gun? Tweet your views! https://t.co/41FOKn05mY pic.twitter.com/jzxWmyaWwA
— Republic (@republic) May 9, 2018
The Congress party’s campaign to retain power in the state has been riddled by several controversies that it has been with. From internal turmoil over the list of candidates and Mani Shankar Aiyer making comments against the Prime Minister in Pakistan and glorifying Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the Congress has committed what could be dubbed a series of errors. With Prime Minister Modi on a campaign blitzkrieg and making scathing attacks on the Congress party and its President, the party could well be staring at the throat of defeat in the upcoming Karnataka elections.
