Candidates make last-minute attempt to woo voters

Candidates and voters in the region were busy on Friday making last minute preparations for voting on Saturday.

The region assumes significance as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is in the fray from Chamundeshwari constituency. He will vote at his native Siddaramanahundi under Varuna constituency where his son Dr Yathindra is contesting as a Congress candidate.

Siddaramaiah visited houses of Congress party workers in villages like Alanahalli, Naganahalli, Katur and Marballi under Chamundeshwari constituency on Friday.

His opponent G T Devegowda of the JD(S) visited Sri Chamundeshwari temple atop the Chamundi Hill before leaving for the door-to-door campaign in villages.

Leaders took to door-to-door canvassing as public campaigning ended on Thursday evening.

The voters are also gearing up to ensure that they exercise their votes.

B Nagesh, an auditor, said that there were six voters in his family and all of them were ready to vote.

Some voters thronged Mysuru city Corporation (MCC) office to check out whether their names figured in the voters list.

Aleemudeen from Udayagiri said that five of his family members had applied for enrolment two months ago, but he had not yet received identity cards. So, he had come to the MCC office to check out.

Nanjundswamy of Gayathripuram was angry as his family members’ names did nor figure in the voters’ list even though he had applied under the ‘minchina nondani’ drive held on April 8.

“The MCC officials had said that I might have not provided documents properly. But, I provided copies of all documents as directed by officials. They said that ID cards will reach us at least seven days before the poll day. I waited till Thursday. Now, I personally came to the MCC office to check out,” he said.

S Ranjeetha, a resident of Saraswathipuram, said that she surrendered her voting rights in Bengaluru and enrolled in the city.

“I have not received the ID card. But, when I verified with the MCC officials, they said that my name is in the list and I can vote by showing one of the ID cards, identified by the Election Commission,” she said.

Meanwhile, some organisations and persons have been trying to create awareness about compulsory voting.

Scion of the erstwhile royal family Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar has posted a video specially made for the purpose on his facebook account.

The content when translated in English reads: “I wish you people uphold aspirations of our ancestors for democracy by casting your votes on May 12.”

It adds ‘#voteforheritage #voteforenviroment #voteforabettermysuru’.

The script of the video is by Yashaswini Sharma and Wadiyar himself. Videography is by Shreyas Devanoor and editing by Nagaraj Gargya.

The crew of ‘Dheera Kannadiga’, a Kannada feature film under Balaram Movies, has circulated a card on the lines of a wedding invitation to create awareness on compulsory voting.

It also alerts the voters against being lured by the candidates with goodies.