The Hindu : Karnataka News : What is the price of a vote?

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Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008
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Karnataka

Karnataka

What is the price of a vote?

In these days when election campaigning is fast picking up, even news gathering can sometimes be mistaken for an exercise in wooing voters.

After a long conversation with a daily wage worker on how she is coping with price rise, this reporter asked whom she would vote for.

If the anticipated answer was “the party that brings down prices,” she threw a surprise. “I will vote for whoever you ask me to vote for. I will even ask those in my neighbourhood to vote for the same person.”Hard to blame her considering so few politicians talk about issues like price rise except when they are bargaining for a vote in return.

The popularity charts

With the parties announcing the names of the candidates contesting the Assembly elections, the focus has now turned on those who have criminal cases.

You cannot avoid the police in such discussions.

“A person accused in a case of murder is a party’s candidate from Mahalakshmi Layout, which is considered to be a constituency comprising educated electorate. I really pity the electorate,” said a police officer.

“A person accused of murder has a better following than one who has served society,” he said referring to the hordes who attended the cremation of a man accused in a murder case and that of a philanthropist.

While the former drew 3,000, the latter drew 150.

BAGESHREE S.,

RAGHAVA M.

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