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Union Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Wednesday accused the Congress party of attempting to manipulate voters by distributing gift coupons in Channapatna where by-polls will be held on November 13.
Speaking during his campaign in various villages of Channapatna, Kumaraswamy claimed that during the last assembly election, Congress allegedly distributed gift coupons worth Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 in constituencies like Ramanagara and Magadi. "Voters were reportedly encouraged to redeem these coupons at Bengaluru's Lulu Mall, with promises that they could buy items of their choice," he said. "When voters went to redeem their coupons, they found them to be worthless," Kumaraswamy said, adding that this act was a "coupon scam". The Union Minister claimed that Congress is now trying to repeat this strategy in the Channapatna by-election. Kumaraswamy urged voters not to be misled by such deceptive tactics, emphasizing the importance of resisting fraudulent practices by Congress. Union Minister's son, Nikhil Kumaraswamy is in electoral fray on the Channapatna seat against Congress candidate CP Yogeshwar. Earlier, exuding confidence in his son's victory, HD Kumaraswamy said that people of the region will bless him with victory in the elections. "Particularly Channapatna is the stronghold of the NDA. Here there is no problem. Our NDA candidate is going to win comfortably. There is no doubt at all...This time people of Channapatna will bless him (Nikhil Kumaraswamy)," he said. Notably, HD Kumaraswamy (HDK) defeated Yogeeshwara in the 2018 and 2023 assembly polls from the seat. The seat fell vacant after HDK won from the Mandya parliamentary segment in the last Lok Sabha polls. Voting for the first phase, covering 47 Assembly constituencies and the Wayanad parliamentary seat in Kerala will take place on November 13. The second phase will occur on November 20 for the Kedarnath Assembly constituency in Uttarakhand and the Nanded parliamentary seat in Maharashtra. The counting of votes will take place on November 23. (ANI)
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