WATCH: Karnataka Congress chief DK Shivakumar courts controversy, showers currency notes at crowd

DK Shivakumar, Karnataka Congress chief, has been embroiled in a controversy after the senior politician was caught on camera throwing currency noted at a crowd during a road show on Tuesday.

A video shared by ANI on Twitter shows that while campaigning in Bevinahalli in the Mandya district for the upcoming Karnataka election, the politician can be seen throwing Rs 500 notes into the crowd from the rooftop of the bus he was riding. 

ANI reported that the incident took place while Shivakumar was participating in the ‘Praja Dhwani Yatra’ organised by the Congress as a precursor to the upcoming Karnataka election.

The Karnataka Congress chief and a potential chief minister candidate, DK Shivakumar, is focusing extensively on campaigning in Mandya because the area is considered to be a stronghold of the powerful Vokkaliga community. And the Congress leader belongs to the same Vokkaliga community.

The leader is trying to build a strong base in the Mandya area which is at present dominated by the Janata Dal (Secular) party. In the 2018 elections, JD(S) won seven out of the total seats in the district.

The Congress has released the list of 124 candidates for the 224-member assembly concerning the upcoming assembly elections in Karnataka.

BJP is currently ruling in the area with a total of 121 seats in the outgoing assembly. Meanwhile, the Congress holds 70, and the JD(S) holds 30 seats. Because BJP fell short of showing the majority, Congress and the JD(S) got together and formed a government in 2018.

However, in 2019, because of the mass resignation from the JD(S) and Congress members, the BJP formed the government with the support of the rebel MLAs and some other members.

Also Read: Karnataka Assembly Election 2023: Check election date, results, full schedule here