‘I was beaten by BJP leader’s men for not voting’

NT Correspondent

Vijayapura: An injured man on Friday alle ged that he was beaten up by a local BJP leader’s supporters for not voting for him in recent municipal elections. Devakanth, who is undergoing treatment in a hospital, said that Rahul Aurangabad and his supporters were angry that he had lost the polls and targeted him afterwards.

“Even after I told them that I have had a bypass (heart) surgery, some six or seven people beat me up senselessly. They did not have an old grudge against me. However, the candidate who won against their leader (Aurangabad) had come to my home and fallen at my father’s feet to seek blessings.

Upon learning this, they figured we hadn’t voted for them, and so they attacked us,” Devakanth said in a video that is being widely shared on social media and messaging apps.

In the recent corporation elections, for which results were announced on Monday, BJP finished as the single largest party, winning 17 out of a possible 35 wards. However, 18 seats are required for a majority. It is understood that the saffron party will seek from one or more of the five independent candidates who won.

Congress finished as the second largest party with 10 seats. All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) won two, and JD(S) bagged a solitary ward. As many as 174 candidates had contested in the polls.