Karnataka Minister KN Rajanna resigned from his post on Monday — hours after criticising the voter theft charges levelled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. The Siddaramaiah loyalist had sparked outrage after blaming the state government for “turning a blind eye” to irregularities in the voting lists.
Sources in the Chief Minister’s office told PTI that his recent remarks had proven fatal — with Rajanna “being asked to resign” from the state government. The state minister also held a meeting with the Chief Minister in the Vidhana Soudha on Monday evening. The CM reportedly sent a letter about his removal to the Governor in the afternoon, and the recommendation was accepted by the Raj Bhavan.
Who is KN Rajanna?
KN Rajanna is a Congress leader who currently serves as MLA of Madhugiri constituency in Karnataka. The Siddaramaiah loyalist had served as Karnataka Cooperation Minister from May 2023 until his ouster on Monday. Rajanna has also been in the news for the past two months after he heralded a ‘September Revolution’ in the state — hinting at a major upheaval in the government.
What had he said?
Controversy arose over the weekend as Rajanna accused the Congress-led Karnataka government of inaction while the voter list was being prepared. He also admitted that the irregularities had taken place “right in front of our eyes” and stressed the need for alertness in the future.
“If we just start talking about such things casually, there will be different opinions. When was the voter list prepared? It was prepared when our own government was in power. At that time, was everyone just sitting quietly with eyes closed? These irregularities did take place — that’s the truth. There is nothing false in this,” he had said.
Rajanna said “there was indeed fraud” in Mahadevapura — claiming that one person had voted from three places. The constituency had come into focus earlier this month after Gandhi claimed there had been “vote chori” of 100,250 ballots. The senior politician said his party had investigated seven unexpected losses from the state during the Lok Sabha elections.
“But when the draft electoral rolls are being prepared, we have to monitor it, right?…When the draft electoral rolls are made, we must file objections — that is our responsibility. At that time, we kept quiet and now we are talking,” Rajanna countered.
(With inputs from agencies)