BJP MLA Siddu Savadi pushed around a woman member of the Mahalingpur Town Municipal Council (TMC) in Bagalkot district as part of efforts to prevent three women members of the party from voting in the election of president and vice-president of the urban local body on Monday, triggering strong criticism.
He tried to prevent the members of his own party from voting after he came to know that they were going to support the Congress candidate. Video clips of the incident went viral on Wednesday.
Chandani Nayak, Godavari Bat, and Savita Hurakadli decided to support the Congress as they were unhappy that the BJP was not willing to make them vice-president of the TMC.
Mr. Savadi, who heard of this, tried to physically prevent them from voting. He stood at the gate and tried to stop them from entering the polling hall. When Ms. Bat and Ms. Nayak tried to slip through, he pushed them around.
The BJP leaders succeeded in not allowing Ms. Bat to enter the hall. The BJP thus succeeded in ensuring that its candidate Snehal Angadi was elected president.
Ms. Nayak managed to seek the support of both the BJP and the Congress and won the post of the vice-president. The 23-member TMC has 13 BJP members and 10 Congress members. P.C. Gaddigoudar, MP, and Mr. Savadi have one vote each, as per law. Since the two members defected and Ms. Bat was not allowed to vote, the strength of two parties was the same.
Both BJP and Congress had 12 votes. Ms. Angadi and Ms. Hurakadli both got 12 votes. But Ms. Angadi was elected on the basis of a lottery draw. Ms. Bat urged the State government to annul the election as she was not allowed to vote.
Ms. Nayak told journalists later that she received minor injuries.
She alleged that the police officers who were standing close by did not save her from the assault. Meanwhile, Mr. Savadi denied any wrongdoing.
Lokesh Jagalsar, Superintendent of Police, however, defended the police and claimed that they tried to stop the assault on the women. “In fact, police personnel had to resort to caning to stop the assault. There were reports that some women TMC members were victims of the assault. However, none of the victims complained against it. Our officers have gone ahead and registered a suo motu case. Investigation will be held impartially and no one will be spared,” he said.
Meanwhile, KPCC president D.K. Shivakumar on Wednesday condemned Mr. Savadi’s action. Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, Mr. Shivakumar said the Terdal MLA demonstrated the BJP’s political culture.
He questioned the failure of the police to take suo motu action. Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa should take action against the legislator, he said.
