Did Siddaramaiah Buy Votes to Win in 2018?
BJP MP demands ECI probe into Karnataka election claims.
BJP Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh Siroya has called for an Election Commission of India (ECI) investigation into explosive claims by former Union Minister C M Ibrahim, who alleged that 3,000 votes were purchased to secure Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah’s narrow victory in the 2018 Badami Assembly election. In a letter to the ECI, Siroya highlighted Ibrahim’s statement that he, along with Congress leader B B Chimankatti, orchestrated the vote-buying to ensure Siddaramaiah’s win by a slim 1,696-vote margin, notably smaller than the 2,007 NOTA votes.
Siroya, in a post on X, described the allegations as “gross electoral corruption” and urged Ibrahim, a key Congress figure in 2018 and Siddaramaiah’s close associate, to disclose how and from whom the votes were allegedly bought. Ibrahim claimed Siddaramaiah paid for the votes six months later, a detail Siroya insists warrants scrutiny. The BJP MP also suggested that B Sriramulu, the BJP candidate defeated by Siddaramaiah in Badami, may hold additional insights into the alleged vote purchase.
The controversy extends beyond 2018, with Siroya questioning Siddaramaiah’s 2006 Chamundeshwari by-election win, where he secured victory by just 257 votes after joining Congress. Siroya speculated whether similar tactics were employed, given Ibrahim’s role as a strategist at the time, and called for clarity on the conduct of that election.
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Siroya also took aim at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of destabilizing his own party’s Karnataka government with recent claims of voter fraud in Bengaluru Central. “Rahul Gandhi’s allegations about electoral rolls have opened a can of worms, affecting his own CM the most,” Siroya remarked, pointing to the sacking of Cooperation Minister K N Rajanna for contradicting Gandhi’s narrative. He labeled Rajanna’s dismissal as the “beginning of Congress’ fall in Karnataka.”
The allegations have intensified political tensions, with Siddaramaiah distancing himself from Ibrahim’s claims, while Congress MP Rajeev Shukla questioned their timing, noting Ibrahim’s silence when he was with the party. As the ECI considers Siroya’s petition, the controversy threatens to reignite debates over electoral integrity in Karnataka.
