Daijiworld Media Network – Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Dec 31: The district committee of JDS has alleged that its candidate from Shirva zilla panchayat constituency, Jacinta Mable D’Souza,  has been abducted by the Congress. JDS district president, Deviprasad Shetty, made this allegation at a press conference held here on Thursday December 30.

“Jacinta had entered the election fray as our candidate, and had taken part in election meetings.  She got abducted in the meanwhile, and we are unable to communicate with or contact her. A police complaint has been filed in this regard. Because of this abduction, we demand for the postponement of election for Shirva zilla panchayat constituency,” Shetty said.

He also said that JDS candidate from Shirva taluk panchayat constituency, Amiruddin, also has received death threats on his mobile phone, and that complaint in this regard too has been registered. Amiruddin, A K Sulaiman, Yogish Shet, Srikant Adiga and some others were present at the press conference.

Jacinta Clarifies: Through a press statement, Jacinta said that she has not been abducted. “I have been a Congress activist all along, and after I failed to secure zilla panchayat ticket from the Congress from Shirva constituency, I was pressurized by the JDS district president to file nomination as a candidate of that party. At the last minute, I failed to withdraw my nomination. I have retired from the field in favour of the Congress candidate,” she clarified.

In the meanwhile, through a release, the district BJP said that it has filed a complaint with the electoral officers about the violation of model election code of conduct by the district Congress president, through his action of deriding Udupi MLA.