Revenue Minister and senior BJP leader R Ashoka was involved in a commotion at a polling station in Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru during the Karnataka elections on Wednesday, May 10. In a video shared widely online, R Ashoka can be heard telling voters and security personnel at a polling booth that he is the candidate and he can go anywhere, when they attempt to stop him from entering the polling booth.
The incident occurred at Booth Number 143 in the Padmanabhanagar Assembly constituency in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning when R Ashoka, who is a candidate in the constituency, entered the polling booth. Those present at the booth said R Ashoka abused security personnel who asked him to leave the area. "If you don't know the rules, why are you coming here? I am the candidate, I can go anywhere," he is heard telling the security personnel.
"I can go anywhere" shouts R. Ashoka at the security personnel as he barges into polling booth number 143, in padmanabhanagar AC while others are carrying their vote. pic.twitter.com/e1xLiundMP
— ದ್ವಿಜಿ ಗುರು Dwiji Guru द्विजि गुरु (@dwijiguru) May 10, 2023
Election officials told TNM that candidates can enter polling booths but are restricted from displaying "posters, flags, symbols or any other propaganda material."
Dwiji Guru, a voter in the polling booth, filed a complaint against Ashok accusing him of verbally abusing security personnel. "He should not have resorted to abuse when there were voters who were there to cast their vote in the elections," he says. A video uploaded by Dwiji on social media was shared widely online, with many questioning the behaviour of the senior BJP leader.
R Ashoka, who belongs to the Vokkaliga community, is seeking re-election for the fourth time from the Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru and is contesting from Kanakapura constituency in Ramanagara.