Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru/Belagavi

Bengaluru/Belagavi, Mar 30: With just over a month remaining for the all-important Karnataka Assembly elections, politicians are busy raining freebies on voters in different parts of the state in an effort to woo them. While sarees are being distributed to woo women voters, the youth are being lured by gifts such as laptops, wrist watches and helmets, among others.

Senior BJP leader Aravind Limbavali reportedly distributed ISI-mark helmets with a sticker of Narendra Modi, Amit Shah, Yeddyurappa and himself at Mahadevapura constituency in the city on Thursday.

In Hebbal constituency, the sitting BJP MLA Y A Narayanaswamy had distributed hotboxes and separate dustbins to segregate wet and dry waste to residents. He also had his name printed on the freebies. Meanwhile, MLC Byrathi Suresh, Congress ticket aspirant of the same constituency is said to have distributed mixer grinders among the economically weaker sections in Hebbal.

BJP MLA Sathish Reddy of Bommanahalli constituency and Congress MLA Priyakrishna from Govindarajanagar Constituency have distributed freebies even before the election dates were announced.

BBMP assistant revenue officer Uma landed in trouble after she distributed free laptops to students after the code of conduct had set in. She claimed she was not aware of the poll code, when questioned.

In Belagavi, pressure cookers were being distributed by Water Resources Minister MB Patil in Babaleshwar. BJP MLA Sanjay Patil’s supporters had reportedly distributed saris and silver coins.

Belagavi President of Karnataka Congress Women’s Wing Lakshmi Hebbalkar reportedly went around distributing gas stoves. Party insiders say that over the past two months Hebbalkar alone has distributed sarees and gas stoves to over 15,000 people in the constituency.

One Congress source in Belagavi says that majority of voters in Belagavi are Marathi speakers and are inclined to MES (Maharashtra Ekikarna Samiti). Hence, luring voters with gifts is the only option.

Meanwhile, the election authorities have booked several cases of violation of the model code of conduct. Chief electoral officer Sanjiv Kumar booked Devarahippargi legislator A S Patil (Nadahalli) for distributing sarees.