Ex-cricketer, who is an election commission icon, cannot vote as he could not register his name on time.an hour ago

Former Indian cricketer, Rahul Dravid, is the face of the election commission in southern Karnataka state but he will not be able to vote in the ongoing elections as his name is missing from the electoral rolls.

The Test cricket stalwart, who was made the brand ambassador for the election commission in the state, moved from Indiranagar to Ashwathnagar in Bengaluru, the IT hub of India, but failed to register his name in the new area that comes under Bangalore North Lok Sabha constituency.

“After he shifted his house, our staff visited his house many times to enrol him but he was travelling,” Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer, Sanjiv Kumar, told Al Jazeera.

“It’s too late to add his name now,” he said amid reports that millions of names of people, including 21 million women, have been missing from the voters’ list.

Dravid could not be reached for comment as he was travelling.

A senior cricket administrator and chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL) – a hugely popular T20 tournament – urged the election commission to include his name.

“Amazed to know that brand ambassador of election commission Rahul Dravid who is appealing everyone to vote to save democracy, himself is not a voter. Even if he has not applied on time EC can always get included his name in the voter list,” Rajeev Shukla, who is also a senior Congress leader, tweeted.

Dravid, who was dubbed The Wall, quit international cricket after scoring more than 24,000 runs during his 16-year career.

Aljazeera

Bengaluru, Apr 15 : The Chikkodi Lok Sabha seat, the sugar bowl of Karnataka bordering Maharashtra, is once again witnessing a fierce electoral battle between the two traditional rivals– Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.

While the Congress candidate Prakash Hukkeri, who had narrowly pipped the BJP candidate, Ramesh Katti, in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, by a slender margin of only 3007 votes, is sweating it out to retain the seat, the BJP candidate is leaving no stone unturned to wrest the seat from the grand-old party.

Hukkeri was the only Cabinet minister, the Congress had successfully fielded in the 2014 elections who succeeded in a photo-finish fight.

The BJP, which is yet to recover from its electoral loss, despite a strong Modi wave in the last elections had fielded Annasaheb Jolle, a well known name in the Co-operative sector in Belagavi district and also one of the prominent industrialists in the region.

The Chikkodi Lok Sabha seat dotted with several sugar factories, both in the private as well as in the co-operative sector, benefitted by the irrigation facilities, drawing water from the Krishna river, in the agrarian district.

While both- the Congress and the BJP candidates- are facing the internal discontent, the Congress’ Hukkeri exudes confidence to sail through in the April 23 elections, as he never missed an opportunity to remain in his constituency and attend the people’s grievances.

The BJP candidate is facing the ire of Ramesh Katti, a former MP, who had failed to earn ticket, while the rebel Congress leader Ramesh Jarakiholi is likely to spoil the party of the Congress candidate.

Jarakiholi, who was sacked from the Cabinet recently, is not actively involved in the campaign for the Congress candidate.

Hukkeri, who had chosen to fight the Lok Sabha elections, in 2014 despite being a Cabinet minister, was so popular that the Assembly seat he had vacated, was won by his son, Ganesh Hukkeri, in the bypolls, by a huge margin.

The BJP candidate, Annasaheb Jolle, a popular name in the co-operative circle in the district, is an industrialist and runs several industries, especially sugar, power and other areas, and his family also runs a co-operative bank, which has branches in almost every villages in Belagavi district.

Jolle,’s wife Shashikala Jolle also a member of the Karnataka Assembly and elected form the district, is also working hard for the success of her husband.

In the eight Assembly segments, both the Congress and the BJP have equal number of MLAs, with four seats each, and the Marathi speaking people living in Nippani and Athani taluks are likely to play a deciding factor in the Lok Sabha elections.

Even though, Hukkeri is the Congress and the JD(S) alliance candidate, hardly there exists any JD(S) base in the constituency.

?With the battle seeming to be a close one, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s wave should come to the rescue of the BJP candidate, and the Congress candidate, Hukkeri, also a veteran co-operative man, is banking on his works and easy access to the people?, Gangadhar Hiremath, a resident of Kagawada Assembly segment, said.

While both the candidates belong to the dominant Lingayath community, the significant presence of the Kuruba, Muslim, Jains, SC and ST is also likely to play its role in tilting the balance.

For the Chikkodi seat, which goes to poll on April 23, in the second phase poll in Karnataka, is being contested by as many as 11 candidates, including BJP and the JD(S) candidates.

New Delhi, Apr 15 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to Indian National Congress president Rahul Gandhi on a contempt petition filed against him by the Bharatiya Janata Party MP, Meenakshi Lekhi, for his alleged comment on the Rafale controversy, denigrating Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bench, headed by Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, sought a detailed reply from Mr Gandhi on his alleged comments.
Ms Lekhi had filed a petition in the apex court after the Congress president allegedly made derogatory remarks against Mr Modi at a recent rally.
The bench asked Mr Gandhi to file his detailed reply by April 22 and set further hearing for the following day.
SC disputes Raga claim of moral victory
Mr Gandhi had allegedly claimed a moral victory and said the apex court had made it clear that the PM “committed theft” in the big ticket fighter jet deal with France.
The Supreme Court had ruled that the leaked Rafale documents could be relied upon to review a previous judgment
Ms Lekhi then had moved the apex court seeking initiation of contempt against Rahul Gandhi.
She also stated that action should be initiated against him for levelling unsubstantiated charges against Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Rafale deal.
Setback to Rahul
The apex court’s issuance of notice to Mr Gandhi is seen as a big setback for him, in the midst of Lok Sabha elections.
Directing Mr Gandhi to explain his statement ‘Chowkidar chor hai’ attributed to the Supreme Court, the CJI-led bench made it clear that it had no occasion to make such kind of observation, it had only decided on the legal question of admissibility of documents.

Bengaluru, Apr 15 : To maintain a strict vigil against any malpractice during the elections, the Election Authorities, have decided not to spare even the Ambulances and Police vehicles, for conducting searches, in Bengaluru city.
Speaking at a meeting of the representatives of the Candidates of the four Lok Sabha seats, here on Monday, Mr Munish Mudgil, special officer on Model code of conduct, BBMP, informed newsmen that ?It was decided to search even ambulances and state government vehicles, for preventing any election related malpractices?.
?The decision to conduct searches on Ambulances, was taken following the reports of misuse of the Vehicles during 24/7 vigil in the next three days? he said.
The polling will be held to 14 Lok Sabha seats in Karnataka, on Wednesday, April-18.
He also warned the officials, assigned on the election duty, and said that ?No excuses would be entertained, for any lapse or dereliction of duties during the elections? he said.