Poll diaries

Cash bags in Davanagere
Davanagere’s sitting MP G M Siddeshwar has dumped sackfuls of cash, Rs 50 crore to be precise, across the city, and these will be unpacked just before elections for distribution, KPCC secretary D Basavaraju declared at a presser on Sunday. He said a little birdie gave him this juicy bit of news, and that the birdie was actually his mole in the BJP. Basavaraju’s grouse was that the “IT department, which conducted raids in the state, is not doing the same when it comes to BJP leaders”. He urged the Election Commission to seize the cash sacks stashed away. Well, the birdie who tweeted about the sacks would surely have given their location too?

Stepping it up for Modi
Officials deputed to monitor violations of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) on Sunday restrained BJP workers from using NaMo placards. Party workers had it all planned out: they wanted to climb the 1,000 steps of Chamundi hill, holding placards highlighting ‘1,000 achievements of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’ as part of their ‘NaMo Again’ campaign. The idea was put in action by Krishnaraja MLA S A Ramdas, who had managed to gather members of 20 organisations, including ‘Team Modi’. However, when they started to climb the steps, officials stopped the supporters and wanted to take away the placards, as the party had failed to obtain the requisite permission for this form of publicity material. A wordy duel ensued between the workers and officials, and the law prevailed. Eventually, after a strict warning by the officials, it was only party workers sans placards, going up Chamundi Hill. You have to give it to the BJP think-tank, though, drumming up 1,000 achievements of the PM can be quite an achievement!  

Bet not, cops on the prowl
Betting fever has gripped Hubballi-Dharwad, with businessmen, youngsters and the working classes wondering where to put their money -- the Indian Premier League or the Indian Polling League. Businessmen linked to different parties are jumping into the gambling game and bookkeepers are busy with large amounts of money expected to change hands. There’s a lot to bet on during elections: winning candidates, percentage of win, number of seats, new government and alliance possibilities. A businessman from Dharwad said that for the lucky lot, it’s a good year. “Betting has become an easy way of earning money. A few businessmen even save some amount for betting.” In Hubballi, the contest between BJP’s Pralhad Joshi and Congress’ Vinay Kulkarni is expected to be a tough one, said a businessman from the city. Police, meanwhile, claim that there is no betting going on. “Till date, we haven’t come across any betting cases related to elections. We are keeping vigil,” said one officer, but added that warnings have been sent out.