In Shivajinagar SDPI tilled the ground but Congress reaped the fruits

Deccan Herald
December 10, 2019

Bengaluru, Dec 10: The Congress party possibly reaped the benefits of extensive fieldwork done by the Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) in the Shivajinagar assembly constituency.

A win in the central Bengaluru segment was the only saving grace for the Congress party which was locked in a fierce battle with the BJP. While the Congress leaders did the fieldwork, the BJP carried out a high-decibel campaign. But what the BJP overlooked was a similar groundwork carried out by the SDPI.

The SDPI’s work may have unwittingly helped the Congress party. “SDPI workers went door-to-door, gathering voter’s contact details, especially in Muslim-dominated areas. Even on the polling day, they kept calling people to turn up in large numbers and cast their vote. We thought we would win by not more than 2,000-3,000 votes,” said a Congress leader. “In retrospect, it seems voters did turn up, but they didn’t believe the SDPI could win and that’s why they voted for us.”

Rizwan Arshad of the Congress romped home by securing 49,890 voters, a lead of 13,521 votes over the BJP’s M Saravana who polled 36,369 voters. The SDPI secured 3,141 votes. JD(S) candidate Tanveer Ahmed Ullah got only 1,098 votes, losing his deposit.

Another factor that helped the Congress win was the high turnout in Muslim-dominated areas and a relatively poor voter attendance in the Hindu pockets, the person quoted above said. Evidently, the voter turnout was impressive in Muslim-dominated wards such as Bharathinagar, Jayamahal and Ramaswamy Palya (Mubarak Mohalla). “It was at least 10% more than the turnout in other areas. In Vasanthnagar and the localities dominated by Tamil-speaking people and other voters, the turnout was far lower,” according to the Congress leader.

Speaking after the counting of voters, Arshad said he had stood with the people of Shivajinagar through thick and thin. “I reside here and understand people’s problems. They believe a youth like me can work for their welfare.”

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 22,2024

Tejaswi.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 22: An FIR has been registered against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya over a provocative hate post on social media, Election Commission officials said on Friday.

The move comes after a complaint filed by officials of the poll body and Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) that the Bengaluru South MP, who is also the President of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, had in a post apparently targeted a minority and spread enmity between two communities.

He also made a similar post on March 19 on X and YouTube which went viral. He has 1.3 million followers on X, thereby influencing the voters and disturbing the communal harmony between the communities, it further alleged.

Based on the complaint, an FIR was registered at Halasuru Gate police station on March 20 under sections 153 A (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc., and doing acts prejudicial to maintenance of harmony), 295 A (Deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs) of the Indian Penal Code and the Representation of the People Act, the officials said.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 28,2024

fire.jpg

Mangaluru, Mar 28: A fish meal factory in the Baikampady Industrial area in Mangaluru was gutted in a fire incident on Thursday, officials said.

The factory is owned by the company 'Shihar Enterprises', they said.

According to the locals, the fire was first noticed at 4.45 am today, which was immediately reported to the fire department.

The fire engines reached the spot and tried to douse the fire, but it had already spread to other parts of the factory. After almost four hours of fire-fighting operation, the blaze was completely doused, officials.

The reason for the blaze is still being probed, the fire department officials said, adding that they suspect an electric short circuit could have triggered it.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
March 15,2024

BSY.jpg

Bengaluru, Mar 15: Former Karnataka chief minister and senior BJP leader B S Yediyurappa was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act on Thursday for allegedly sexually assaulting a minor at his residence in Bengaluru last month.

Yediyurappa, 81, was booked after a woman lodged a complaint saying that she visited his residence on February 2 seeking justice in a rape case against her daughter and sought that a special investigation team (SIT) be formed to look into the case.

According to the first information report (FIR), Yediyurappa allegedly took the minor to a room, closed the door and sexually assaulted her. The woman further alleged in the FIR that when she confronted Yediyurappa, he said that he was checking if the girl was raped or not. Yediyurappa later allegedly apologised and asked the woman not to reveal the matter to anyone.

The Sadashivanagar police in Bengaluru have registered a case under Section 8 (commit sexual assault) of the Pocso Act and Section 354 (a) (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Reacting to the allegations, the former CM said that around one-and-a-half months ago, they (the victim and her mother) had come to his house seeking help and he had taken them inside. 

“After listening to her, I called the city police commissioner B Dayananda over phone seeking to address her problem. Later, they spoke against me and I then suspected that there is some health problem with her. I sent them to city police commissioner’s office. I even gave her some money as they were in distress. I came to know that an FIR has been registered and will look into it. But this is what I get for helping someone,” he added.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.