JOIN USVoters of Gandhinagar ward seem to be at sea when it comes to their choice for the councillor from the ward in the bypoll scheduled for February 26.
Even as electioneering picks up pace to fill up the post which became vacant following the brutal murder of the previous Congress corporator S Nataraj, all the enthusiasm is seen only among contestants and voters appear passive and sceptic. A total of nine candidates are in the fray.
A visit to the ward gives a clear indication that the voters are a confused lot. Some of the voters Deccan Herald spoke to were quite critical about the elected representatives for doing nothing to address civic woes such as water problem and traffic bottlenecks in the ward.
Muthu Kumar (name changed) who runs a shop on Sirur Park Road near Varadachar Kalyana Mantapa, said the previous corporator did nothing to tackle water crisis in the area.
“They take votes from us and serve the builders who are responsible for our water problems and traffic woes. Everybody comes and preaches voters to perform their duties but will the political parties and their candidates too realise their roles and responsibilities?” said Muthu Kumar.
No cakewalk for Cong
The election will not be a cakewalk for Congress though Gandhinagar is traditionally its bastion.
The victory last time was not that much impressive. Nataraj won by a thin margin of 538 votes against his nearest rival G Ramachandra of BJP.
The saffron party has retained its candidate this time, while Congress has fielded T Gopalakrishna, a confidante of Gandhinagar legislator, Dinesh Gundu Rao. The JD(S) has brought in a new face, P K Suresh in place of Murugan, who gave a tough fight to BJP and Congress in the previous election. Also in the fray are Ashwath Narayan from JD(U), Yuvaraj from AIADMK and four Independents.
Posters and flexboards which were put up wantonly to draw public attention even before the election calendar was announced are now being removed following the enforcement of model code of conduct.
Notwithstanding the high-decibel campaign, the voters appear disenchanted and dejected over the failure of their elected representatives to deliver on their tall promises.
“If you ask us, we are least bothered about this election as our experiences are not very encouraging. Like on the previous occasions, we will be duped this time,” Nagendra, a resident said.