2 min readBengaluruMay 7, 2026 07:19 PM IST
The row over the recounting of postal ballots cast in the 2023 Assembly polls in Karnataka’s Sringeri constituency has refused to die down, as Congress candidate T D Rajegwoda approached the Election Commission on Thursday seeking a forensic audit of the invalidated postal ballots.
Rajegowda petitioned the chief electoral officer, seeking a review of all strong-room CCTV footage from May 2023 to May 2026, and all CCTV and videography footage of the initial counting held in May 2023.
In his petition, the Congress candidate alleged that during the recount, “shocking discrepancies were discovered that point toward a high-level criminal conspiracy to alter the election results retrospectively”.
“Several bundles of postal ballots, supposed to be under secure seal since 2023, were found with broken or compromised seals. The current RO, Shri Gaurav Shetty, invalidated 257 votes previously cast in favour of Shri TD Rajegowda, citing “Double/Multiple Entries”.
“These markings were non-existent during the original count in 2023,” the petition said, highlighting that one bundle containing Rajegowda’s 170 votes was “visibly tampered with and modified”.
The original Election Counting Procedure Book dated May 13, 2023, had no mention of multiple entries that were found on May 2, 2026, the petition said.
“It is our firm contention that the then Returning Officer, Shri Vedamurthy, the then Deputy Commissioner, Shri Ramesh, and Shri D.N. Jeevaraj acted in collusion. After the initial results in 2023, they allegedly opened sealed covers and deliberately defaced ballots cast for Shri T.D. Rajegowda to ensure rejection during a judicial recount,” the complaint added.
Speaking to reporters, Rajegowda said that no one should suffer the injustice faced by him and demanded a forensic analysis of the postal ballots that had allegedly been tampered with.
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“We trust the Election Commission of India and the CEO. If this goes unchecked, then anything can happen (during elections) in the future,” he said.
The court-ordered recount of postal ballots flipped the results of the 2023 elections, where the Congress candidate had won by a margin of 201 votes. During the recount, 255 votes polled for Rajegowda turned out to be “invalid”, helping BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj lead by 52 votes.
Jeevaraj, meanwhile, was sworn in as a legislator on Wednesday, following the recount.
