Belagavi: While candidates for the coming poll are attempting to woo voters with sarees and utensils, their move backfired in Bableshwar constituency on Saturday as angry people threw a large number of boxes with the gifts inside on to the streets, leaving them shell-shocked.
With a close clash on the cards between Water Resources Minister M B Patil and Mr Vijugouda Patil of the BJP, tempers are rising in the constituency and several supporters of the Congress leader allegedly threatened people after a quarrel with BJP workers in Atalatti village on Friday. As news of the alleged threats issued by Congress workers spread across the constituency, several people threw out the sarees and utensils allegedly given to them by the party on the streets. Refusing to accept any kind of goodies from the candidates, several voters said they would only vote for an able candidate who was keen to develop their constituency.
“The sarees and utensils have been given to most of the voters in the constituency even though many of them were unwilling to accept them. We are ready to buy utensils and sarees for the candidates themselves if they need it,” said the angry voters .
According to sources, at least 60,000 boxes containing utensils and sarees were distributed in Bableshwar constituency by one candidate alone before the code of conduct came into force. In some other parts of Bableshwar, pressure cookers were distributed among the people.
When it got tougher for candidates to continue with the supply of goodies to the voters after the code came into force, they took to distributing "coupons" in several areas of Bableshwar to give people free liquor and food.
As the two sides continue to war here, the BJP has decided to hold a rally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the constituency and to counter it, the Congress is holding a rally of former Congress president, Sonia Gandhi here on the same day, May 8.
