Flowers are a passe, party workers now say it with apples to leaders

Leaders are, no doubt, the proverbial apple of the eye to workers of their respective parties.

And workers of the Congress and the JD(S) in the Mysuru-Mandya belt are saying it with, you guessed it right, apples. The trend has picked up in the two districts, of late, and leaders are being adorned with garlands of apples, weighing hundreds of kilograms.

The leaders, who are on a campaign trail in the two districts are offered apple garlands, costing thousands of rupees. As the garlands are very heavy, cranes are used to put them around the necks of the leaders. This has turned into a competition of sorts among the party workers as they are increasing the weight of the garlands each time.

It all started when Energy Minister D K Shivakumar visited the residence of Srirangapatna constituency Congress ticket aspirant S Sachidananda on March 15. The supporters of Sachidananda decorated him with an apple garland weighing 250 kg, using a crane.

Not to be left behind, JD(S) workers started adorning their leaders with apple garlands at party conventions, using cranes. They went a step forward and are now using seven to eight excavators, to shower petals on their leaders.

On March 26, JD(S) workers decorated H D Kumaraswamy with an apple garland, weighing 500 kg, during his roadshow as part of Vikasa Parva in Maddur. At the same event, hundreds of youth offered him a garland of apples, weighing 300 kg. On March 29, he was offered a 400-kg apple garland at Nagamangala, followed by a garland of flowers. At Pandavapura on Sunday, he was showered with flowers using excavators, during the Raitha Chaitanya yatre.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah was welcomed by Congress workers with a huge garland of apples weighing 750 kg, during his visit to Chamundeshwari constituency at Hootagalli in Mysuru on Sunday.