70% of K’taka govt employees voted for BJP, says EC

ManuAiyappa.Kanathanda@timesgroup.com

Bengaluru:27.05.2019

A large majority of Karnataka government employees, who form the backbone of the public administration, overpoweringly rejected the Congress-JD(S) alliance in the Lok Sabha polls. Election Commission figures show that the BJP secured 70% of postal ballot votes as against 25% for the Congress-JD(S) combine.

As many as 59,881 of the 85,022 state government employees who voted through postal ballots went with the BJP. The Congress secured 16,678 votes (20%) and the JD (S) 4,932 votes (5%). The remaining 5% either voted for candidates of different parties and independents or chose the NOTA (none of the above) option.

In 2014, the BJP bagged 47% of the votes via postal ballots and the Congress around 38%.

The BJP won the most postal votes in all 27 constituencies it contested including the two that it lost, Hassan and Bengaluru Rural. What is more alarming for coalition partners is the quantum of the saffron party’s lead from postal votes in some constituencies.

For instance, BJP’s PC Gaddigoudar, who won from Bagalkot, got 2,976 postal votes, compared to 30 votes secured by Congress’ Veena Kashappanavar. In Bengaluru Rural and Hassan, where BJP lost, the Congress-JD(S) alliance got 546 and 1,094 postal votes respectively against BJP’s 2,566 and 1,893. In Mandya, Nikhil Kumaraswamy got 1,239 votes compared to 1,493 for independent Sumalatha Ambareesh.

Full report, www.toi.in

BJP plans bid to topple govt; coalition plans cabinet expansion to keep flock together

Bengaluru:Buoyed by a stupendous performance in the recent Lok Sabha polls, the BS Yeddyurappa-led BJP in Karnataka appears to have begun the spade work to topple the year-old JD(S)-Congress government in the state.

This was evident on Sunday when disgruntled Congress legislators Ramesh Jarkiholi and K Sudhakar together with BJP leader and former deputy CM R Ashoka met BJP leader SM Krishna at his residence in Bengaluru. The meeting took place at the same time Mandya MP-elect Sumalatha Ambareesh, with BJP state president BS Yeddyurappa, visited the senior Vokkaliga leader.

The meeting has come at a time when the coalition government is struggling to stay afloat following a dismal performance in the elections. TNN Full report on www.toi.in