Supreme Court restores Congress TD Rajegowda as Sringeri MLA

Sringeri MLA: The legal battle over the Sringeri assembly seat has taken a dramatic turn. The Supreme Court has provided significant relief to Congress leader T.D. Rajegowda, granting an interim stay on a previous Karnataka High Court order that had unseated him following a controversial recount.

The Supreme Court has ordered the maintenance of the status quo, effectively reinstating Rajegowda as the sitting MLA. The Court stayed the High Court’s verdict and all subsequent actions, including the recount results.

BJP’s D.N. Jeevaraj, who had recently been sworn in as MLA after the recount, faces a temporary setback as his victory is put on hold. The Election Commission has been directed to submit the recount report, with the next hearing scheduled for May 21, 2026.

The primary controversy centers on the massive discrepancy between the original 2023 election results, where T.D. Rajegowda was declared the winner over runner-up D.N. Jeevaraj by a margin of 201 votes, and the May 2026 postal ballot recount, which saw Rajegowda’s share drop to 314 votes against Jeevaraj’s 690, resulting in a narrow 52-vote victory for the BJP candidate.

This two-year legal tug-of-war began in May 2023 when T.D. Rajegowda was declared the winner of the Sringeri constituency, prompting D.N. Jeevaraj to file an election petition over alleged postal vote irregularities.

This led to a High Court-mandated recount on May 2, 2026, where Jeevaraj was briefly sworn in after a 52-vote victory, only for Rajegowda to successfully appeal to the Supreme Court by challenging the flawed recount process and the unfair reduction of his vote share.

Speaking to the media, T.D. Rajegowda expressed his satisfaction with the apex court’s decision. “I have found justice in the Supreme Court,” he stated, noting that the sudden drop in his postal vote count raised immediate suspicions of foul play. He remains confident that the final hearing on May 21 will uphold his original mandate.