On Thursday, the Janata Dal (Secular) MLA from Tumkur rural, Gowri Shankar, was disqualified by the Karnataka High Court. However, the verdict has been temporarily stayed for a month due to the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.
Shankar JD(S)'s most successful MLA in Tumkur district
The disqualification of Shankar is a significant setback for the JD(S), as he is the party's most successful MLA in the Tumkur district. With the looming presence of the BJP in the state, and the Karnataka Assembly election approaching, the JD(S) requires every possible win to remain relevant in the southern state.
Why was he disqualified?
The JDS MLA, Gowri Shankar, has been accused of distributing 16,000 fake policy insurance bonds to individuals who were 32 years old, resulting in a case being filed against him. The complaint alleges that Shankar distributed these fake bonds with the intent of gathering votes for the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections.
Shankar had won the 2018 Karnataka Assembly elections from the Tumkur rural constituency, with a margin of 5640 votes. Prior to that, he had contested the Assembly election from Mudhugiri in 2008 and won.
The Election Commission of India has announced that the Karnataka Assembly election is scheduled to take place on May 10, with the results being declared on May 13.
About Tumkur rural constiutuency
Tumkur Rural (Gen) is a constituency in the Tumkur district and Southern Karnataka region of Karnataka that belongs to the Tumkur Parliamentary/Lok Sabha constituency.
The constituency has a total of 199,667 voters, which includes general voters, NRI voters, and service voters. Of the general voters, 100,050 are male, 99,521 are female, and 23 are categorized as "other". The constituency has an electorate sex ratio of 99.4 and an approximate literacy rate of 76%.
Past election results
In the 2013 Karnataka Assembly Elections, the BJP secured this seat with a margin of 1,572 votes (1.07%), receiving 37.5% of the total votes polled. The seat had a voter turnout of 83.71% in that year.
In the 2008 Assembly Elections, the BJP won this seat with a margin of 28,392 votes (23.35%), garnering 50.08% of the votes polled. In the 2018 elections, the seat had a voter turnout of 78%.
