Chikkamagaluru (Karnataka) | The BJP candidate from Sringeri Assembly constituency, D N Jeevaraj, who was defeated in the 2023 election, has been declared elected as MLA by the returning officer after recounting of postal ballots.

The announcement was made after the reverification and recounting of postal ballots, as per a Karnataka High Court order.

The exercise showed that votes polled for Congress candidate T D Raje Gowda, who has been the MLA since May 2023, were reduced by 255 votes.

Following the declaration of Jeevaraj as elected, Raje Gowda will cease to be an MLA.

Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting took place on Saturday and continued until midnight.

Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes.

“In pursuance of the provisions contained in Section 66 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, read with Rule 64 of the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961, I declare that D N Jeevaraj, sponsored by the BJP, has been duly elected to fill the seat in the Karnataka Legislative Assembly from Sringeri constituency,” the returning officer said in the declaration of result document issued late on Sunday night.

The High Court on April 6 had ordered reverification and recounting of postal ballots. The exercise has since been completed, returning officer Gaurav Kumar Shetty said earlier on Saturday night.

“During the 2023 counting, Jeevaraj had received 692 votes, while Raje Gowda had received 569 votes. After reverification and recounting, Jeevaraj has 690 valid votes, two fewer than earlier, while Raje Gowda’s tally has been reduced to 314 votes, a difference of 255 votes,” he said.

Alleging that the recounting result in Sringeri was a “dangerous” trend, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar said he had not imagined there would be such “criminal minds” in the BJP.

“Wins and losses are normal in a democracy. But what has happened here is a conspiracy. It is extremely shocking. We will conduct an investigation at the government level. We will also fight this legally,” he told reporters.

The BJP on Sunday demanded that the returning officer immediately announce the recount results and declare Jeevaraj as MLA.

Raje Gowda has expressed doubts about “vote tampering” and demanded a detailed inquiry into Jeevaraj and others.

“There are markings on ballots polled in my favour. Different ink has been used; it is clearly visible. During the 2023 counting, all those ballots were deemed valid in the presence of counting agents of all parties. Now, such votes have been declared invalid, bringing down my tally,” he told reporters.

Later, Sudheer Kumar Murolli, who served as Raje Gowda’s counting agent during the 2023 Assembly polls, lodged a complaint at Chikkamagaluru Town police station alleging that 255 ballot papers cast in favour of Raje Gowda had been tampered with.

He demanded that a case be registered and an investigation conducted against the then Election Officer Vedamurthy, Jeevaraj, and former Deputy Commissioner K N Ramesh.

Raje Gowda and his supporters had earlier celebrated on Saturday, claiming the results were in their favour.