The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday accepted the nomination of Congress leader D K Shivakumar, a seven-time MLA from the Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara District Karnataka.
He is currently facing multiple investigations in cases related to alleged money laundering and tax evasion. The cases have been registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax (IT) department.
Shivakumar filed his nomination papers from the Kanakapura constituency on Monday amidst a show of strength by his supporters. "This is the rise of Karnataka with its foundation in Kanakapura," Shivakumar had said in a tweet.
However, in a surprise move, hours before the deadline for filing nomination for the Assembly polls in Karnataka, Congress MP from Bangalore Rural D K Suresh on Thursday entered the fray from the same constituency in what was termed as Shivakumar's "backup plan" in the event of his nomination getting rejected.
Suresh, later speaking to reporters, said, "I'm a voter from Kanakapura and I should be contesting from there. That is the direction from our party president and AICC leaders. We are hearing about certain conspiracies, so as a precautionary measure I have filed my nomination."
Cases against DK Shivakumar
Meanwhile, on April 18, the Congress leader also disclosed that he has 19 criminal cases pending against him . Of the 19 cases, four are related to alleged income tax evasions, two cases have been registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the Money Laundering Act, one case is with regards to bribery, two cases related to alleged disproportionate assets and 10 related to protest marches carried out by him and his party, according to a report by Times Of India.
The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday dismissed the petition by state Congress president D K Shivakumar challenging the sanction given by the State Government to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for prosecuting him. Following a request by the central agency, the State Government had given the sanction on September 25, 2019, based on which it had filed an FIR against him on October 3, 2020.
The CBI in 2020 had accused Congress leader Shivakumar of amassing disproportionate assets worth Rs 75 crore which had to be accounted for and that his 21-year-old daughter’s Rs 150 crore assets also had to be looked into.
Shivakumar had challenged the sanction on grounds that this was a politically motivated FIR, and three earlier FIRs have already been filed against him in relation to disproportionate income.
Meanwhile, the BJP has fielded minister R Ashoka from the Kanakapura constituency, who is also from the Vokkaliga community. In the last few elections, Congress has secured the seat except between 2004 and 2008.
(With inputs from PTI)
