Karnataka - Belgaum   

‘Let the media identify a good candidate for me to elect’

Belgaum: As the countdown for polling in the last phase of the Karnataka Assembly begins with the end of campaigning at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, the pressure is building up on voters who are all set to exercise their franchise on Thursday.

The electorate, by and large, appear to be disillusioned over seeing the old faces whom they view as corrupt and inefficient.

Even the new faces, including independents and nominees of the Bahujan Samaj Party and the Janata Dal(S), seem not to have made any visible influence on the voters.

The choice, according to a voter P.C. Badiger, a conductor in the North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation in Belgaum city, is between the bad and the worst. Sharing his views with The Hindu, Mr. Badiger said he has decided not to vote for anybody as the corridors of power had only become more corrupt with every election.

All contesting parties promise to end corruption only to find themselves caught in fresh scandals. There is no change in the living conditions of the poor while their elected representatives grow rich.

“What is the use of voting? I do not want to feel guilty by electing a corrupt person to the legislature. Let the media identify a good candidate or a party that is the best among all instead of criticising them (candidates and their parties) and I will certainly vote for one,” he said. Independent observer from Belgaum L.B. Karale said an election was an acid test for the voters who have the great responsibility of analysing both the contesting parties and candidates before taking a final decision to cast their ballot. They may not have many choices yet they have to pick a lesser evil in the face of the falling merits of political parties and politicians, as election was the only instrument to have a representative government.

At the same time, it is the responsibility of an elected government to fulfil the promises made to the people. If that does not happen, it amounts to deceit and betrayal on the part of the party elected to power.

These views are not just limited to Mr. Badiger or Mr. Karale but are of almost every single voter who feels deceived after participating in elections in the past and yet walks to a polling station to cast his vote in the hope of seeing a truly good government in the future. To what extent his hopes will be realised is a matter to be watched.

There are 187 candidates contesting in 18 constituencies in the district.

While the contest in most constituencies is triangular and four-cornered, the Congress is the common rival of all parties in all the pockets. The MES is fighting hard to save its face after its flock split resulting in the emergence of rebels who are bound to play spoilsport in Belgaum North and South constituencies.

Although the rebel Deepak Dalvi has backtracked on record, his technical presence in Belgaum South is still a cause of worry for the MES. The MES is also trying hard to win back the boundary constituency Nippani. The Bahujan Samaj Party hopes to surprise its rivals by attracting Dalit votes in all the pockets.

The Janata Dal(S), which is fully confident of winning in Hukkeri and Arabhavi, hopes to bag 14 seats in the district. So hope the Congress and the BJP. However, how will the voters take the promises of free TVs, a kg of rice at Rs. 2, free electricity to irrigation pumpsets up to 10 hp, remains to be seen, even as “political stability” is one of the major issues before them.

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