JD-S cries foul play in Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls

Alleging foul play in Karnataka Rajya Sabha polls, the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) on Friday said two Congress legislators were allowed to vote for a second time after they initially cross-voted.

"Election officers are working like ruling party's (Congress) agents. Two senior Congress MLAs -- Kagodu Thimmappa and Baburao Chinchansur -- cross-voted and were given ballot again by the returning officer to cast their votes for their nominated candidate," JD-S state president H.D. Kumaraswamy told the media here.

"Illegal" voting was being allowed, he alleged, threatening to boycott the bypolls.

Five candidates, including three from the Congress and one each from opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the JD-S are in the fray for four Upper House seats from the state.

The Congress candidates are L. Hanumanthaiah, G.C. Chandrashekar and Syed Naseer Hussain and the BJP candidate is Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who is seeking a second term, as his first term as an Independent member ends on April 2. The JD-S nominee is B.M. Farooq.