The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : ‘EC strictures led to more spending’

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Saturday, May 24, 2008
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Karnataka

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‘EC strictures led to more spending’

Special Correspondent

Candidates could not reach voters through cheaper modes of publicity
Delimitation compounded the woes of candidates

Bangalore: The Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee on Friday opined that the restrictions imposed by the Election Commission of India forced the candidates to spend more, as they were unable to reach their voters through the cheaper modes of publicity such as mikes fitted on autorickshaws in the countryside.

Addressing presspersons, KPCC election spokespersons B.L. Shankar, V.R. Sudarshan and K.H. Srinivasa said that the District Returning Officers took different views in their jurisdictions in imposing restrictions on using autorickshaws and mikes in public meetings. It happened in Chikmagalur district, Mr. Shankar said.

The problem of the candidates, mostly new ones, was compounded this time because of the delimitation of the constituencies and most of them did not know their voters. The holding of elections should not be too technical as it would take of the flavour from it, they said.

The Election Commission, Mr. Shankar said, should experiment with more debates by the media in future. Mr. Srinivasa and Mr. Sudarshan said that it was strange that mikes were allowed to be used during Ganeshotsavas and hoardings by film industry and the birthday of personalities, and political parties were barred from using it. Are the political parties and politicians criminals to be ostracised like this? they asked. A serious exercise such as elections should not be left to the whims and fancies of the officials, they said.

On the election prospects, Mr. Shankar said that it was a straight fight between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, but his party would get a simple majority. Instead of the Bahujan Samaj Party, it was the Janata Dal (Secular), which was likely to play the role of a spoiler after the elections. Admitting that the Congress faced a serious challenge by its own workers, he said that 19 persons joined the BJP, 16 the Janata Dal (Secular), 12 the Bahujan Samaj Party, while 18 contested as rebels against the official candidates.

Mr. Sudarshan congratulated Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the United Progressive Alliance chairperson Sonia Gandhi and its partners for successfully completing four years in office. He hailed the programmes such as waiving Rs. 60,000 crores of farm loans, National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, reservation in higher education for OBCs and tabling of the Women Reservation Bill in Parliament.

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