All political parties have been striving extra hard to court voters with gifts since the model code of conduct has not yet been implemented.
A woman from the village of Galagali in Karnataka’s Bagalkote district won plaudits for turning down a bag of sugar that supporters of the state’s minister of industries, Murugesh Nirani, offered her. The woman can be heard repeatedly saying “no” to the Minister’s supporters who were pleading with her to accept the bag of sugar in a now-viral video. She can be seen setting the bag of sugar outside her door after one of Nirani’s supporters attempted to bring it inside.Politicians from both parties have been wooing voters with gifts that range from pressure cookers to saris to digital clocks, dining sets, TVs, and even life insurance premiums. All political parties have been striving extra hard to court voters with gifts since the model code of conduct has not yet been implemented. Almost all voters accept these gifts; very few reject them.
Women in a few Bengaluru constituencies reportedly received saris as Sankranti wishes, with the option to redeem them using an OTP, to their astonishment. In other regions, gift boxes containing dishes, cartons, and bowls as well as 5-litre aluminium cookers costing roughly Rs 1,500 were given to BPL households.
In advance of the 2023 Karnataka Assembly elections, Byrathi Suresh, a Congress Member from Bengaluru’s Hebbal district, gave away LED smart televisions to residents in his district in January. Manjunath Naidu, a member of the Aam Aadmi Party, reported Byrathi Suresh to the Election Commission, claiming that she had distributed 40,000 TVs, each costing about Rs 8,000, in order to buy votes.Suresh, however, asserted that the TVs were purchased using his funds in order to make it easier for constituents’ students to take online courses.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC), a set of rules published by the Election Commission of India (ECI), specifies the principles that political parties must adhere to when participating in an election. The code aims to ensure that parties and candidates behave ethically throughout the electoral process. Political parties in Karnataka have been giving out gifts to voters without any oversight because the MCC is still not in place. Manoj Kumar Meena, the chief electoral officer for Karnataka, called on enforcement agencies to take action against political parties and candidates in accordance with the law’s current norms and regulations in response to these instances in order to stop such behaviour even before voting begins.
Additionally, he advised that agencies like the Commercial Tax Department conduct warehouse raids to look for any violations of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act.
In April or May of 2023, the Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled to take place.
