State housing minister Zameer Ahmed Khan and Congress leader Mohammed Siraj have denied involvement in a purported audio clip that has sparked a row on social media.
The clip, which runs for nearly four minutes, allegedly features the two leaders discussing voting trends during the April 9 by-election in Davanagere South constituency.
Zameer is heard discussing voter turnout, saying, "this is a matter of prestige for me," before asking for an assessment of polling. Siraj is then purportedly heard responding, "Cooker. Only cooker," an apparent reference to the pressure cooker symbol of the SDPI candidate.
Both leaders have strongly disputed the recording, with Zameer claiming it was fabricated using AI technology and Siraj saying it was heavily edited and manipulated.
The row comes weeks after a by-election that exposed divisions within sections of the Congress in Davanagere South. A group of Muslim leaders had sought a Muslim nominee for the constituency, arguing that the community formed a significant segment of the electorate.
The party ultimately fielded Samarth Mallikarjun, grandson of former MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who won the by-election with 69,578 votes.
