Karnataka: Gram Panchayat president aspirant lures members with Tamil Nadu tour

HUBBALLI: As many as eight newly elected Gram Panchayat members of Budagatti village in Haveri taluk are on pilgrimage in Tamil Nadu thanks to Shantamma Kuriyavar, an aspirant for the post of president of the local body, who has picked up the tab.

That’s not all. She has also promised them gifts. Shantamma, however, has to contend with stiff competition as other aspirants have sponsored trips to Goa, Maharashtra, Kerala or Andhra Pradesh with each trying to outdo the other goodies thanks to the amendment to Panchayat Raj Act which ensures a five-year term at the helm of affairs of every Gram Panchayat.

In addition to these aspirants, local legislators are also spending lakhs of rupees for each member to keep their vote-bank intact. Inducements are more in panchayats where the post of president has been reserved for the general category. Meanwhile, travel agencies are making a quick buck because of the steep demand for vehicles.

“We have completed tours to many religious centres including Dharmasthala. We will return to our village in time for elections to the posts of president and vice-president. Our MLA G.S. Patil will take care the entire expenditure of our tour we will finalise the name of GP president on his direction”, Sumangala Kataraki, an aspirant for the post of president of Hole Alur Gram Panchayat, told Deccan Chronicle.

Congress-backed contestants have won a large number of seats in the region as most of the legislators belong to the ruling party in north Karnataka. Therefore, they are holding out several assurances to Gram Panchayat members to strengthen the party’s support base at grass-roots level. The aspirants are organising for which last more than a week to ensure that their rivals do not offer inducements to woo the members.