Bengaluru, Apr 21 (IANS): Karnataka Congress President D.K. Shivakumar on Friday heaved a sigh of relief after the returning officer accepted his nomination from Kanakapura constituency for the May 10 Assembly polls.

The authorities ruled out any discrepancy in the nomination filed by Shivakumar. He feared that BJP is conspiring to push him out of the election fray.

Shivakumar is vying for the post of chief minister and the development has disturbed him. Following the suspicion that the authorities would reject his nomination, he had decided to field his brother D.K. Suresh as a contestant from Kanakapura seat.

Earlier in the day, Shivakumar said that 5,000 people have downloaded his property declaration papers, and anyone, including the BJP, can play foul. "I know what they are up to. Against this backdrop, another nomination has been filed through my brother D.K. Suresh," he stated.

Speaking to reporters, he said, "We have our own strategy... Why can't he (D.K. Suresh) file nominations? We will have our political calculations. We can't let out our secret. Everything will be clear by the day after tomorrow. We also know how to conduct politics. My property submissions are downloaded by 5,000 people. There is a BJP conspiracy behind it," Shivakumar stated.

Shivakumar had declared property worth more than Rs 1,414 crore. The property details have been given in more than 108 pages. Shivakumar alone owns more than Rs 1,214 crore. As per the affidavit his wife, Usha Shivakumar owns Rs 133 crore and his son, Akash owns Rs 66 crore.

He stated that he owns Rs 970 crore worth immovable assets, Rs 244 crore movable assets and also mentioned that he has Rs 226 crore loans. His yearly income is furnished as Rs 14 crore. Shivakumar family's revenue was Rs 252 crore in 2013 and it rose to Rs 840 crore in 2018.

According to the sources, the Income Tax (I-T) authorities had summoned Shivakumar for inquiry four days ago. The I-T sleuths had collected details after Shivakumar filed his nomination from Kanakapura seat. They had also come to Kanakapura town and collected information about Shivakumar's assets and other details.

The sources earlier maintained that the I-T authorities have been focusing on property details and tax payment details of Shivakumar for the last five years. The discrepancies have been found in this regard by the I-T sleuths. Sources explained that the details submitted to the I-T department and details in nomination papers have been found to be different.

With these developments, he has fielded his brother Suresh in the eventuality of rejection of his nomination papers. Shivakumar was planning to field his brother from Padmanabhanagar seat represented by BJP Minister R.Ashoka. Ashoka is also contesting against Shivakumar in Kanakapura constituency.