K'taka: In Gundlupet and Nanjangud bypoll, for one vote, 2 pink notes

Mysuru: A bitter poll campaign ended on Friday, for the two Assembly seats of Gundlupet and Nanjangud, where the levels of animosity displayed by the lead campaigners made it seem that it was CM Siddaramaiah and opposition BJP leader B.S. Yeddyurappa who were the candidates rather than V. Srinivasprasad, a man who had switched parties and Geetha Mahadev Prasad, the widow trying to reclaim her husband's mantle.

In fact, the voters of these two constituencies, which go to polls on Sunday, maybe the only ones smiling. For the rate for each vote has spiralled from an alleged Rs 500 a week ago to a mindboggling Rs 4000!

This is a pointer to the high stakes battle for the two seats with the Congress and BJP engaged in a do-or-die battle as they know this could set the trend for the 2018 Assembly polls. It’s Gundlupet where the business of ‘buying votes’ is far more frenetic than Nanjangud. Residents said anti-social elements have also entered Gundlupet to distribute money and intimidate voters, and called for tighter security on Saturday, a day before polling as well as on polling day as a massive exercise of distributing money in Nanjangud too is reportedly underway.