Bengaluru

ChiefMinister Siddaramaiah has accused the EC of “double standards” and “bias” after it sought details on the state’s guarantee schemes in Davanagere and Bagalkot districts, where bypolls are scheduled for Thursday. In a post on ‘X’ on Wednesday, Siddaramaiah said the Election Commission of India had asked the Karnataka government for information on fund releases under five ongoing guarantee schemes in the constituencies going to polls. The polls were necessitated following the deaths of senior Congress MLAs Shamanur Shivashankarappa and H Y Meti, respectively. Siddaramaiah alleged that the ECI had remained silent when similar cash transfer schemes were announced in Maharashtra and Bihar ahead of elections, calling the scrutiny of Karnataka’s schemes a “clear case of bias”.

“In states like Maharashtra and Bihar, cash transfer schemes were announced or fast-tracked just before elections, directly benefiting voters. Yet the ECI remained silent. This is not neutrality-it is complicity,” he said. The CM accused the BJP and NDA governments of “a double standard”, noting that when they act, the ECI “looks the other way”, but when Karnataka fulfils its promises, it faces “intense scrutiny”.

He added that targeting the state’s guarantee schemes is “not just political but anti-poor, anti-women, and anti-Karnataka.” Siddaramaiah clarified that these schemes were not launched in connection with the bypolls but are ongoing programmes implemented as part of the Congress government’s commitments from the 2023 Assembly elections. Funds are transferred regularly to beneficiaries in a transparent and structured manner, he added.

“The guarantees are part of governance-a direct investment in human dignity, household stability, and economic participation, not inducement,” he said. He also accused the BJP of “hypocrisy”, saying that while it criticises Karnataka’s schemes as “freebies”, it rolls out similar programmes in states it governs. “The Karnataka model has set a benchmark for the country. What is deeply concerning, however, is the ECI’s selective approach,” Siddaramaiah added.