 "BJP's Tejasvi Surya booked for 'soliciting votes on the ground of religion'")
Bengaluru South's sitting MP and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 's candidate for the same constituency, Tejasvi Surya, found himself embroiled in controversy as he was booked by Karnataka's Chief Electoral Officer for allegedly posting a video on social media platform X, wherein he purportedly sought votes on religious grounds.
"Case is booked against Tejasvi Surya MP and candidate of Bengaluru South PC on 25.04.24 at Jayanagar PS u/s 123(3) for posting a video in 'X' handle and soliciting votes on the ground of religion," tweeted the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka on Friday, amidst the ongoing polling in this crucial constituency where Surya is pitted against Congress's Sowmya Reddy.
In a series of appeals, Surya urged voters to participate in the electoral process. His final video, issued around 2 pm, reportedly referenced the Ram Mandir, border security, and Article 370, urging voters to use the remaining hours of polling to the fullest.
Earlier in the day, Surya employed an 80 per cent-20 per cent analogy, encouraging BJP supporters to turn out in large numbers. "We the BJP voters are 80 per cent but only 20 per cent come out and vote. Congress' voters are 20 per cent but they come out and vote 80 per cent. This is the ground reality at the polling booths in most cases. Every single vote of yours matters. Please come out and vote because if you are not voting, Congress' 20 per cent is definitely voting," he stated.
Till 3 pm, Karnataka witnessed a voter turnout of 50.93 per cent, with Bengaluru South recording 40.77 per cent. Notably, Udupi Chikmagalur led the turnout with 57.49 per cent, followed by Hassan (55.92 per cent), Dakshina Kannada (58.76 per cent), Chitradurga (52.14 per cent), Tumkur (56.62 per cent) , Mandya (57.44 per cent) , Mysore (53.55 per cent), Chamarajanagar (54.82 per cent), Bangalore Rural (49.62 per cent), Bangalore North (41.12 per cent), Bangalore Central (40.10 per cent), Chikkaballapur (55.90 per cent), and Kolar (54.66 per cent).
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Following his early vote cast, Surya launched a scathing attack on the Congress, predicting the party's limited success. "The Congress party has become absolutely frustrated. Survey after survey shows that it may not win more than 30 seats... The more personal attacks and baseless allegations they make against the PM, history has shown that the Prime Minister has only gotten stronger and the BJP has only gotten more popular," he said.
Reflecting on the significance of the election, Surya remarked, "Today is a celebration day in Karnataka. It is a festival of democracy. Millions of people will go out and vote... This is not just a right, but also a duty, because if we don't vote, we are not registering our voice, and contributing meaningfully to a democracy... Just like every year, more senior citizens are seen at the booths, they are coming out in big numbers to vote. I hope young people draw inspiration from senior citizens and also come out in big numbers and vote."