Hubballi: With the Congress and BJP fielding only one candidate each for the dual member Dharwad local bodies constituency in the Council polls, political parties are not making much of an effort to lure voters who are panchayat members.
Both candidates are confident of their victory whether they hand out inducements or not.
Candidates, who had offered thousands of rupees to each panchayat member till Monday, have stopped doling out inducements. Earlier, they had distributed watches, sarees, TVs, bicycles and mobile currency recharge cards. Each panchayat member was also offered hefty amounts after many candidates filed nomination papers in both constituencies.
But the political equation have changed in Dharwad after Congress candidate Nagaraj Chabbi retired from the contest bowing to the directions from the party high command. Earlier, the party had fielded both Srinivas Mane and Nagaraj Chabbi as it is a dual member constituency.
After Chabbi’s withdrawal, the victory of Congress candidate Srinivas Mane and BJP candidate Pradeep Shettar is almost a certainty.
“Candidates distributed several gifts to panchayat members before the code of conduct came into force to escape punishment by the Election Commission. The parties reportedly offered '5,000 to each Gram Panchayat member. Now, the flow of gifts has stopped”, said Sumitramma Katarki, former president of Hole Alur Gram Panchayat in Gadag, part of Dharwad constituency.
The situation is however different in Bijapur-Bagalkote, a dual member seat, where expelled BJP leader Basavaraj Patil Yatnal who has also entered the fray, could upset equations. Yatnal is heavily banking on voters of Bijapur district as both Congress candidate S.R. Patil and BJP candidate G.S. Nyamagouda hail from Bagalkot district.
The triangular contest has forced candidates here to step up their effort to woo voters by offering inducements.
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