Bengaluru, April 4: Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy’s car was stopped by a flying squad of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct a search. According to reports, the Static Surveillance team of the EC stopped Kumaraswamy’s SUV on the highway while he was on his way to Hassan. However, nothing was recovered from the car. At the time of the search, Kumaraswamy was also present in the car.

The search was conducted days after the Karnataka chief minister sought the poll panel’s intervention to end the Income Tax department raids on Janata Dal-Secular and Congress supporters. He alleged that the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is playing politics of vengeance against the Karnataka government. Lok Sabha Election 2019: EC Seizes Over Rs 77 Crore From Maharashtra Since Model Code of Conduct.

Kumaraswamy's car searched:

Kumaraswamy had tweeted, “PM @narendramodi's real surgical strike is out in the open through IT dept raids. The constitutional post offer for IT officer Balakrishna helped the PM in his revenge game. Highly deplorable to use govt machinery, corrupt officials to harass opponents during election time (sic).” Raids were conducted at multiple locations in Bengaluru, Hassan, Mandya and, Mysuru, sources told news agency ANI.

On April 2, Rs 1.8 crore were recovered from the convoy of Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Prema Khandu’s convoy. The cash was recovered just a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state. Meanwhile, training guns at the BJP over the incident, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said, “Was this cash reportedly transferred for Prime Minister's rally in Pasighat on Wednesday? Is it not a clear cut case of 'Chowkidar' becoming 'Chor' about which Congress president Rahul Gandhi has been talking in the past?"

The Lok Sabha elections 2019 will be conducted in seven phases. The polling will take place between April 11 and May 19. Meanwhile, the counting of votes will take place on May 23, and the results will be declared the same day.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 04, 2019 09:23 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).