Sringeri recount: BJP claims win as Rajegowda's postal votes drop by 250
Synopsis
A Karnataka High Court-ordered recount of postal ballots in the Sringeri constituency has slashed sitting Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda's postal vote count from 569 to 314 — a drop of 255 — flipping the original 201-vote margin. The BJP has claimed victory and levelled 'vote theft' allegations against Rahul Gandhi, but no official result has been declared by the Election Commission of India.
Key Takeaways
The Karnataka High Court ordered a reverification and recount of postal ballots in Sringeri constituency via an order dated 6 April 2026 .
Rajegowda's postal votes fell from 569 to 314 — a reduction of 255 votes — after the recount.
Jeevaraj's postal votes moved marginally from 692 to 690 .
Jeevaraj had originally lost to Rajegowda by 201 votes in the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections .
The Election Commission of India has received the report but has not yet declared an official result.
BJP Leader of Opposition R.
Ashoka alleged 279 postal ballots were illegally rejected in 2023, calling the recount a victory for democracy.
The reverification and recounting of postal ballots in Karnataka's Sringeri Assembly constituency — ordered by the Karnataka High Court — has been completed, with the Election Officer submitting a revised tally to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The recount, conducted on Saturday, 3 May 2025, showed a dramatic reduction in postal votes credited to sitting Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda, prompting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to claim victory — even as no official result has been declared by the ECI.
What the Recount Figures Show
Election Officer Gaurav Kumar Shetty confirmed that the revised figures differ significantly from the original 2023 count. BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj's postal vote tally moved marginally from 692 to 690 — a reduction of two. However, Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda's postal votes fell sharply from 569 to 314, a reduction of 255 votes.
In the original 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, Jeevaraj had lost to Rajegowda by a narrow margin of 201 votes. With Rajegowda's postal vote count now reduced by 255, the BJP argues the outcome should be reversed in Jeevaraj's favour.
Shetty clarified,
Point of View
And its decision to name Rahul Gandhi in a 'vote theft' slogan over a constituency-level postal ballot dispute, reflects a political strategy that outpaces the legal process. The recount covered only postal ballots, not EVMs, meaning the full picture is incomplete until the ECI rules. The deeper question — how 255 postal votes credited to Rajegowda in 2023 failed to survive reverification — deserves a transparent, documented answer from election authorities, not just political sloganeering from either side.
NationPress
3 May 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
What happened in the Sringeri Assembly constituency recount?
A Karnataka High Court-ordered reverification and recount of postal ballots in the Sringeri constituency found that sitting Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda's postal vote tally dropped from 569 to 314 — a reduction of 255 votes. The BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj's count fell marginally from 692 to 690. The report has been submitted to the Election Commission of India, which has not yet declared an official result.
Why was the Sringeri recount ordered by the Karnataka High Court?
BJP candidate D.N. Jeevaraj had filed a petition challenging the 2023 election result, in which he lost to Congress MLA T.D. Rajegowda by 201 votes. He alleged irregularities involving 279 postal ballots. The Karnataka High Court, via an order dated 6 April 2026 by Justice R. Nataraj, directed reverification and recounting of those postal ballots.
Has the BJP officially won the Sringeri seat after the recount?
No official result has been declared. While the BJP has claimed victory based on the revised figures provided by Election Officer Gaurav Kumar Shetty, the Election Commission of India must formally announce any change in the result. The High Court's order did not direct the Election Officer to declare a result.
What did BJP's R. Ashoka allege about the 2023 Sringeri election?
Leader of Opposition R. Ashoka alleged that 279 postal ballots were illegally rejected during the 2023 count, depriving voters of their democratic rights. He accused the Congress of misusing authority to secure an unlawful victory and raised slogans naming Rahul Gandhi in connection with the alleged vote irregularities.
Did the recount cover Electronic Voting Machine votes as well?
No. Election Officer Gaurav Kumar Shetty explicitly clarified that the Karnataka High Court's order pertained only to postal ballots and not to EVM votes. The court directed verification of 279 specific postal ballots and recounting of the remaining postal ballots for the two candidates named in the petition.
