Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru (SP)

Bengaluru, Oct 29: Bypolls to Sindagi and Hangal assembly constituencies are being held on Saturday October 30. The public campaign has already come to a close there.

Just two days ahead of the poll, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) president, D K Shivakumar, made a sensational allegation, claiming that the BJP is paying Rs 10,000 per vote during the bypolls. Shivakumar released a video of an envelope containing five currency notes of Rs 2,000 face value each with the picture of lotus on the envelope, and another video in which the voters are verifying the contents after pulling the notes out. In one of the videos, a woman is shown checking the money after opening the envelope while in the other, a man seated on a chair is counting money after taking it out from the envelope. On the cover, the photo of the candidate and lotus symbol are printed.

Speaking after releasing the videos, Shivakumar stated that the BJP is spending huge amount in Sindagi and Hangal bypolls. He noted that Rs 10,000 is being paid for every vote. He expressed surprise at the fact that the BJP is indulging in such things. He wanted to know from the BJP what it expects the people to do, if elections are fought this way. "We have never seen such a corrupt party and corrupted election so far. The videos were provided by the people belonging to the BJP. The cover containing money with a photo of the lotus are here," he showed. He asked the chief minister to get permanently entrenched in Hubballi as he is doing now, as all the ministers are doing the same," he said.

Reacting to raids conducted on an entrepreneur, U B Shetty, who is deemed to be close to Shivakumar, and houses of other family members, Shivakumar confessed that the raids indeed have happened. "The residence of my friend has been raided. They went to two places in Bengaluru. They did not raid our house. I am ready for everything," he said.