Youth Congress reeling under rigging charge

BENGALURU: Allegations of internal elections being rigged continue to dog the just-concluded Youth Congress in Karnataka even as the party is preparing to take on the BJP in the 2018 polls.

A four-member inquiry committee from the Indian Youth Congress has submitted a report to NGO FAME that conducted the elections on behalf of the party, after several complaints were raised and video clips circulated of ballot boxes being stuffed with votes of non-existent people.

“The committee has completed its inquiry and given its report to FAME. Our national vice-president Rahul Gandhi is also aware of the details.

There were no such problems and whatever internal differences we have, we will sort it out and go forward unitedly,” president-elect of the Karnataka Youth Congress, Basanagouda Badarli told ET. Badarli’s own election is not in doubt, as he has won with a margin of about 15,000 votes, but his rivals in the YC and senior leaders in the party who support them have red-flagged the way the results were reportedly “muscled through.”