Karnataka elections: Some netas dole out cookers, others leave it to Gods

The scale of freebies in the Karnataka elections is unprecedented. This one is probably one of the hardest fought election in Karnataka in recent times.

All political parties with the exception of none have been doling out freebies, be it pressure cookers or insurance policies, just to name a few. This time around political parties are also offering religious trips. This is not limited to the state or country alone, but trips to Mecca for Umrah and Hajj are also out on offer.

Political parties have been booking private buses for an entire month to send voters in batches. The political parties find this an effective way to connect with the voters.

Earlier, some political parties had offered trips to Tirupathi. BJP leader, S R Vishwanath, who is a member of the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanam sends around 70 people from his constituency daily to Tirupati. The leader however says that this has nothing to do with the elections. "I am a member of the board and I ensure that my constituents have easy access to the Temple, Vishwanath also said. I have been doing this since the past two years, he added.

There are other leaders who have been sending people from their constituency to Nanjangud, Chamudi Hills, Raganatha Swamy temple, Shivansamudra, Dharmasthala and Om Shakti in Tamil Nadu.

Chamarajpet MLA, Sameer Ahmed is organising tours to Mecca. He says that he had promised to send them on a pilgrimage for the good work rendered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I truly believe that this is good for the people," Sameer Ahmed who has sent 17 people to Saudi Arabia so far said.

An expert tells OneIndia that the political parties will overdo this freebie bit as no code of conduct is in place as yet. Most of them take advantage of the fact that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has not announced the poll schedule as yet. With the model code of conduct not being in place as yet, the ECI would find it hard to act on these politicians, the expert cited above also said.

In addition to the religious trips, politicians have also been doling out cookers, digital clocks and other gifts in a bid to induce the voters.

A report by news agency PTI had said that in Bengaluru dinner sets had been distributed. Citing a lady who sought to remain anonymous the report said that the she had received a call to collect a dinner set. At first she thought that it was a prank, but when she had gone to check, there were people who were distributing dinner sets.

While the EC has found it hard to crack down on these practices, Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Meena said that there are ways to curb this before the poll process begins.

"We deliberated on what we can do in the light of the recent media reports which allege that the political parties and its elected representatives are indulging in such activities to garner votes." Meena said.

A meeting of all enforcement agencies had been called for and they have been directed to act in this regard, the poll official also said.