The Karnataka High Court has ruled in favor of a recount in the Malur assembly seat, causing a setback for the Congress party. This decision follows a challenge to the 2023 election results, where the Congress candidate, KY Nanje Gowda, won by a slim margin of 248 votes against BJP’s Manjunath Gowda. Manjunath Gowda contested the outcome in court, citing irregularities in the vote counting process.
The petitioner, Manjunath Gowda, alleged that the Returning Officer and election officials violated election rules by obtaining signatures from counting agents before the EVMs were opened. He requested the court to examine all election-related documents and order a recount. The High Court noted that the absence of a video recording of the counting process, as mandated by the Election Commission, made it difficult to verify the allegations.
The court has temporarily halted its order, granting Nanje Gowda the opportunity to appeal to the Supreme Court. Malur, part of the Kolar district, is one of the 224 constituencies in the Karnataka Assembly. The area has a substantial number of SC and ST voters. Elections have been held in Malur four times, with different parties experiencing success.
In 2008, the BJP won the election. In 2013, the JD(S) secured a victory. In 2018, Congress won. In 2023, Congress won again. The BJP had a vote share of 65.83% in 2008. JD(S) got 21.77%. Congress had the lowest vote share then. In 2013, Congress’s vote share increased, while JD(S) got the most. In 2018, Congress had the most vote share, BJP was second, and JD(S) was third. In 2023, the vote shares were very close between Congress and BJP, while JD(S) had a lower share.
In the 2023 election, the Congress candidate received 50,955 votes. The BJP candidate received 50,707 votes. Independent candidate Vijaykumar Hudi came third with 49,362 votes.