In a dramatic turn of events following the recount of postal votes, Congress leader T.D. Raje Gowda has lost the Sringeri assembly seat to D.N. Jeevaraj of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The recount, conducted on May 2, 2026, invalidated 255 votes that had initially favored Raje Gowda, leading to allegations of vote tampering from both sides. Raje Gowda has been actively seeking divine justice, visiting various places of worship including the Veerabhadra Swamy Temple and Jamia Masjid in Koppa, where he expressed that he was wronged in the election process. He, along with party counting agent Sudhir Kumar Murolli, denied any wrongdoing and called for accountability for those involved in the alleged manipulation of postal votes. Meanwhile, BJP leaders B.S. Sathish and S.N. Ramaswamy have also visited temples to defend the integrity of the original counting process, asserting that the election was conducted transparently. Sathish demanded a formal investigation into the discrepancies in the vote counting, questioning how valid votes from 2023 were suddenly invalidated in the 2026 recount. This controversy highlights the ongoing tensions and disputes surrounding election integrity in Karnataka.