Candidate makes a unique offer in exchange for votes

Brainy barter

Only recently an Uttar Pradesh minister Indrajit Saroj, who is a candidate in the forthcoming assembly polls, had offered to grant fire arms licenses in exchange for votes prompting a hue and cry from his opponents and complaints to the Election Commission (EC).

During election time, one hears about the various promises made by the nominees to the voters in an attempt to woo them and garner votes in the elections, but one candidate in Uttar Pradesh has made the most unique offer, till date, to voters of his area in exchange for their votes.

A nominee from Hathras assembly constituency in the state has reportedly been offering ‘gointha’ (a kind of fuel prepared from dung after it is dried and used for cooking food in the villages) to those who promise to vote for him the forthcoming assembly polls.

The people of the constituency said the representatives of the nominee, whose name they did not disclose, have been visiting colonies of people from the economically weaker section as well as slums, and distributing ‘gointha’ among them free of cost. “They are offering 125 gointhas for a single vote.” some residents said.

“All one has to do is to show his or her ration card or voter’s identity card to claim them,” they said. “The gointhas are not only useful in cooking but also keep you warm in this biting cold,” the residents said. For  hundreds of poor families for who buying a cooking gas connection or using coal would certainly be  a costly proposition, the offer was definitely lucrative.

However, it remains to be seen if his opponents take notice of the ‘unique offer’ and lodge any complain to the election authorities and also how the latter viewed the same.