As the Karnataka elections near, the Congress has written to the Election Commission of India demanding the removal of Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Chief Commissioner Tushar Giri Nath, alleging misconduct in election duties. The complaint, filed under Section 32 of the Citizens' Representative Act 1950, accuses Tushar of failing to perform his duties and committing mistakes in the appointment of booth-level officers and allocation of election work to a private organisation named Chilume. It further alleged that Tushar allowed the collection of personal information of voters, which is a violation of election laws.
The complaint urged the Election Commission to immediately remove Tushar from election duties and appoint a competent and unbiased officer in his place to ensure transparent and fair elections. It also stated that despite submitting a petition in November 2022 against Tushar, raising concerns about transparency and fairness in the election process, he was not released from election duties.
A joint investigation by TNM and Kannada news outlet Pratidvani in November last year revealed that Chilume was involved in large-scale voter data theft in three Bengaluru constituencies. The NGO used a Government Order to illegally collect voter data in the name of helping revise electoral rolls ahead of the Karnataka elections. However, the trust forged identity cards to pass off their employees as block-level officers (BLOs) and other officials. Chilume also received a payment of Rs 17.5 lakh from Nandeish Reddy, a former BJP MLA who lost in the 2018 elections from the KR Pura constituency in Bengaluru.
Watch: How voters data scam involving Chilume was investigated