K'taka Cong chief Shivakumar 'fears' rejection of nomination papers

BENGALURU: Karnataka Congress President DK Shivakumar is fearing rejection of his candidature from Kanakapura constituency for the May 10 Assembly polls as the State Election Commission is set to verify the nomination papers on Friday.

Any discrepancies in the nomination papers would lead to rejection of his candidature. Fearing rejection, Shivakumar got his brother D.K. Suresh, MP from Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha seat, file his nomination from Kanakapura constituency on Thursday.

According to the sources, the Income Tax (I-T) authorities had summoned Shivakumar for inquiry four days ago. The I-T sleuths had collected details after Shivakumar filed his nomination from Kanakapura seat. They had also come to Kanakapura town and collected information about Shivakumar's assets and other details.

The sources further revealed that the I-T authorities have been focusing on property details and tax payment details of Shivakumar for the last five years. The discrepancies have been found in this regard by the IT sleuths. Sources explain that the details submitted to the IT department and details in nomination papers are found to be different.

The election officers will verify the property details submitted by Shivakumar and in case of any wrong information furnished by him, they will reject his nomination papers.

In case of any discrepancy, Shivakumar can also find himself in a legal soup.

With these developments, Shivakumar has fielded his brother Suresh in the eventuality of rejection of his nomination papers. Shivakumar is vying for the post of CM with the Opposition leader Siddaramaiah. The development is a setback for Shivakumar.