Election Commission acting at behest of BJP govt: Siddaramaiah on deferred by-polls

Kalaburagi: After the Election Commission (EC) deferred by-polls to 15 Karnataka Assembly constituencies, former state Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah alleged that the electoral body is acting at the behest of the BJP government.

"Election Commission is acting at the behest of BJP government. The decision of EC to conduct by-elections in the state is only to favour the disqualified legislators," Siddaramaiah said.

The Election Commission recently stated that the by-polls for 15 Assembly constituencies in Karnataka will be held on December 5.

"December 5, is the date on which polls start and December 11 is the date before which the elections shall be completed," the poll body said.

The poll for 15 Assembly constituencies namely Athani, Kagwad, Gokak, Yellapur, Hirekerur, Ranibennur, Vijayanagara, Chikkaballapur, K R Pura, Yeshvanthapura, Mahalakshmi, Shivajinagar, Hosakote, Krishnarajpet and Hunsur, will be conducted from 7 am to 6 pm.

As per the EC, candidates can submit their nominations from November 11 till November 18.

Earlier, the by-polls were scheduled to be held on October 21 and the result was supposed to be announced on October 24.

Meanwhile, Siddaramaiah also claimed that the "central government has not paid a single rupee in 50 days of a massive flood in northern Karnataka."

"Centre has failed to address the flood situation," he said.