MANGALORE, Apr 22 (The Hindu): Congress MLA for the Mangalore Assembly constituency U.T. Khader has alleged that there are discrepancies in the voters' list in Ullal and claimed that it is part of a “deliberate conspiracy”.

Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr. Khader produced a copy of the voters' list of Kotekar Gram Panchayat and claimed that 300 voters from a certain ward had been shifted onto the rolls of another ward.

Mr. Khader alleged that it was done with the aim of tilting the balance in favour of candidates owing allegiance to a certain political party. Supporters of Mr. Khader pointed out that most of the 300 people who had been shifted belonged to a particular community.

The voters who had been displaced were most likely to vote in favour of a “secular” candidate, said one Congress worker on the sidelines of the press conference.

While his supporters directly blamed the BJP, Mr. Khader said that all he wanted was an impartial probe into the matter. “I have no proof to level charges against a certain political party. But what has happened is quite clear. I want this mess sorted out,” he said.

He added that he had received several complaints that members of the same household had been allotted different wards.

Deputy Commissioner V. Ponnuraj said that he had asked the Assistant Commissioner to probe the matter and that he was awaiting a report.

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