Poll khol

From bogus voting and fakeu00a0ID cards to officials who marked the wrong finger with indelible ink, Mid Day brings you a lowdown on all that went terribly wrong with the civic polls

Dummy voters at yesterday's civic polls

What happened:
MiD DAY caught on camera some Congress workers preparing fake Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) and using these to cast fake votes.

Modus operandi: Dummy voters, brought in on Saturday, were made to masquerade as genuine voters. Their photos taken on Saturday night.

Yesterday, as genuine voters steamed into polling booths to cast votes, the Congress workers paid the genuine voters from Azad Nagar (ward 141) Rs 1,000 each to surrender their EPICs for a few hours and told not to cast their vote.



The Congress workers noted the genuine voters' details from their EPICs and entered these on fake cards kept ready. Photos of the fake voters were then pasted on them. These fake cards were designed as 'employment' identity cards.

The Election Commission (EC) has approved use of any photo identity, including office identity card, as valid ID proof to cast one's vote.

More than a vote:u00a0The fake voters sauntered into the booths and cast their votes after flaunting the fake EPICs.

Outside, a few of their associates armed with a certain chemical to erase the indelible ink mark on their forefinger. Many fake voters re-entered the booths with a new fake EPIC to cast their vote again.

Officialspeak: Bharatlal Meena, BBMP Commissioner, said, "If we come across such an irregularity, we will probe the case and refer it to the Election Commission."

The other side: Congress candidate Gowramma's husband, C Govindaraju alias Jinke Govinda, said his party work had done no wrong. He said, "Those caught on camera are not my men."

'I don't know the full form of BBMP'

Name: Seema Khanum
Age: 30 years
Candidacy: Contesting on a Congress ticket from Jagajeenram Nagar (Ward no 136).
Qualification: A matriculate, Khanum is the wife of Altaf Khan, a local rowdy.

What is BBMP?
It is the corporation.

Do you know the full form of BBMP?
No. I don't.

All right, do you know where is the BBMP's head office?
I have seen it. It is somewhere in the city.

Do you at least know which election you are contesting?
Yes, that of a councillor.

Do you know what are the duties of a councilor?
Sorry, I don't. I'm not educated. But all I know is that a councillor should work for the people.

What do you intend to do for the people if you win the election?
My husband will look after it. I can't interact with people that well, as I can't speak any language other than Urdu.

Then how will you take part in the discussion at the BBMP council meetings?
I'll take my husband along.

But he won't be allowed there.
Oh, I didn't know about it.

When the handy job went wrong

The issue: At the polls yesterday, the officials deputed at polling station no. 5 in Maruthi Vidyalaya, Hombe Gowda Nagar were oblivious of a key rule set by the EC. The polling officers shocked voters by marked their left hand's index finger against the mandatory right hand
finger.u00a0

Got it wrong: "We were surprised," said Vivek Reddy, an advocate at High Court. "I gave him my right hand but the officer insisted on marking the index finger of my left hand with indelible ink."

The Change: In a bid to avoid any confusion, the EC had decided that marking would be made on the right hand as recently polls were held in the city for cooperative societies as well.

'Not our fault':

While public blamed polling officials for the confusion, officials on the other hand blamed their EC for not
updating them with the change.

"Initially, we were not informed about the change," said Mahesh K R, the polling officer. He, however, added that his seniors told him about the change later and to which, he obliged.

He's accused of double murder

Name: Imran Pasha
Age: Around 30 years
Candidacy: Contesting on a JD (S) ticket from Bapuji Nagar (Ward 134)

Goons in the race: Although, Imran Pasha is the only rowdy sheeter who has contested the polls, there are other dreaded criminals too who have stood for the civic polls this year.

V Nagaraja alias Bomb Naga is accused of murder. He is contesting as an independent from Prakash Nagar (Ward No. 98).

Mahim, who is accused in an attempt to murder case, is contesting as an independent from Siddapura (Ward No. 144)

Family details: Father Arif Pasha, a former councillor, has several criminal cases registered against him. His mother, Zarina Begaum, is also a former councillor and is presently contesting on a JD (S) ticket from Padarayanapura (Ward no. 135).

Cases against him: Imran has a case of double murder against him. He has also been accused in four cases of attempt to murder.

Imran has nine cases of issuing threats to life registered against him six at the Jagajivanram Nagar police station and three at Cubban Park police station.

The JD (S) candidate also has several cases for criminal assault against him. A few of his close aides have been accused of stealing mobile phones.