Karnataka election 2018: Not an election, it’s a slanging match’

BENGALURU: Exactly a month after his 100th birthday, freedom fighter and activist Harohalli Srinivasaiah Doreswamy on Friday recalled his first experience as a voter in independent India way back in 1951-52.
“It was very thrilling to vote for the first time and there was a lot of enthusiasm among the people. Before independence, not everyone was allowed to vote as only land-owners, government servants, gazetted officers and others had the privilege.A lot of women, who weren’t allowed to vote till then, stepped out eagerly. I was actively campaigning for a political party and we spent a lot of time going door-to-door, convincing people to vote and also getting them registered. A group of us would go with voter lists in hand,” Doreswamy reminisced, sitting in the bedroom of his house in 4th T Block, Jayanagar,.
Stating that elections were far more honourable affairs at that time, Doreswamy said the practice of giving freebies and money in exchange for vote only began in the mid-1960s. “Things so common now were unheard of that time. The first time a candidate offered Rs 15 per day requiring 100 people. While my friends and I refused, he later got others to do the same work and also won as a result. Then it also spread to providing goodies to voters,” he said.
The freedom fighter was, however, critical of the way campaign was conducted this time.
“This is not an election, it is a slanging match. People screaming insults and making personal accusations is not what citizens deserve. Candidates should bank on their achievements and agendas and not use other methods to convince voters. Earlier, even an independent candidate known for his civic work and sacrifices for the country would get a lot of votes,” he said, adding that there was no credibility attached to a candidate’s name anymore.
“Now, it has become a state of builders, property developers and moneyed men. This needs to change. Even if meritorious candidates don’t win at first, they should stand and serve as examples to educate people,” he said.