Message was supposedly from a Student Council Member of VV Puram Jain College

Students were mandatorily asked to participate in the nomination rally

Sowmya Reddy tagged the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka in her post

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate from the Bengaluru South constituency Tejasvi Surya would file his nomination on April 4th. A supposed WhatsApp screenshot that has become viral has added to his woes. 

An account titled ‘KnownGhost’ posted screenshots on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter) at 9:06 PM on April 3rd. 

ರಾಜಕೀಯ ಕಾರ್ಯಕ್ರಮಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾಲೇಜು ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳನ್ನು ಕಡ್ಡಾಯವಾಗಿ ಆಗಮಿಸಲು ಸೂಚನೆ ನೀಡಿರುವ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಸೂರ್ಯ ರವರ ನಡೆ ಎಷ್ಟು ಸರಿ??

ವಿದ್ಯಾರ್ಥಿಗಳ ಮೇಲೆ ದಬ್ಬಾಳಿಕೆ ಏರುತ್ತಿರುವ ಸಂಸದ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಸೂರ್ಯ ರವರ ಮೇಲೆ ಕ್ರಮವಿಲ್ಲವೇ??

ಇದು ನೀತಿ ಸಂಹಿತೆ ಉಲ್ಲಂಗನೆ ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?
@ceo_karnataka @CPBlr #RejectTejasviSurya pic.twitter.com/PIoAn7SJIg

— IYC Karnataka (@IYCKarnataka) April 3, 2024

The WhatsApp message supposedly from a Student Council Member of the VV Puram branch of the Jain College urges students of the Jain College to assemble near the Jayanagar ground on 4th April for the nomination rally of Tejasvi Surya. They are told that they would be given T-Shirts of the BJP leader. The controversial part was that the students were mandatorily asked to participate in the rally as it would be used for marking attendance. The message mentioned that no excuses would be tolerated for absence. 

Also Read: Hanuman Chalisa row: BJP protests, complaint lodged against Tejasvi Surya for ‘fanning’ communalism

Indian National Congress (INC) party supporters were quick to capitalise on this issue and questioned the ethics of pressuring students using them to campaign for election. Fingers were also raised at the administration of the Jain College for allowing this to transpire. INC candidate from Bengaluru South Sowmya Reddy tagged the Chief Electoral Officer of Karnataka and the Police Commissioner of Bengaluru and requested them to take action.