Karnataka   

‘Obama mania’

MADDUR: The “Obama-mania”, which swept across the United States during the recent presidential elections in that country, is creating ripples in the interior countryside of the Vokkaliga and the Cauvery belt.

Inspired by the President-elect Barack Obama’s all-inclusive democratic ideals and speeches, independent candidate N.C. Puttaraju has launched a one-man campaign to woo voters. Among the photographs and pictures that adorn his publicity materials include a portrait of Mr. Obama.

Clad in striped shorts and a half-sleeved shirt, Mr. Puttaraju’s symbol is an electric pole which he described as “leading one from darkness of poverty to light”.

Defending his attire – of striped shorts, he says it is the pride of farmers.

“I come from a poor family of farmer and have grown up in poverty and will fight to eradicate this scourge,” says Puttaraju, who is now emerging as a popular figure among the voters if only for the sheer novelty of his campaign style.

He is welcomed by all with a handshake and this includes activists from various political parties.

For the voters used to seeing the pictures of Gandhiji and Swami Vivekananda, B.R. Ambedkar to the former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the inclusion of Barack Obama in the gallery of luminaries has left them bemused.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Karnataka poll official: steps taken to stop liquor supply
Karnataka withdraws merger order
Youth festival ends
A campaign with a difference
‘Obama mania’
Children rescued
Annual plan after Assembly session
Yeddyurappa joins Karwar campaign
Anniversary
‘There is no truth in complaints’
Security
Commission criticised
Parties step up campaign in Maddur
Bigwigs slug it out in Madhugiri
A force to reckon with
In the name of the father
Another rogue elephant captured in Kodagu
Ananthamurthy, Basavaraju among five chosen for Kannada varsity’s Nadoja award
Government is anti-people: JD(S)
Genetics clinic in Manipal
Free dispensary
Will Jarkiholi be third-time lucky?
Can Congress, BJP storm JD(S) bastion?
‘Steps taken to check flow of liquor’

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu