Betting fever grips KR Pet

As the counting of votes, polled in the bypoll to 15 Assembly constituencies, would be held on Monday, for the results, betting fever gripped political enthusiasts of Mandya district, especially in KR Pet taluk.

The bypoll was held on December 5, following the resignation of Narayana Gowda, who was elected as a JD(S) MLA, in August. He was elected in 2018.

By default, Mandya district is a hotbed for political activities. Probably because of its location, in between Bengaluru and Mysuru, the people are interested in political discussions.

While Bengaluru was the seat of the British Commissioners and Residents, Mysuru was the seat of the Maharajas of the Wadiyar dynasty, since 1799, when Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed in the Fourth Mysore War.

Earlier also, Mandya was between Srirangapatna and Bengaluru. While the former was the capital of Mysuru state, the latter was a prominent commercial town of the state. The district has so far given two chief ministers to the state — S M Krishna and B S Yediyurappa — besides many prominent leaders.

Even though the Police department says that it has no information about betting, it is rampant. Betting is mostly on BJP candidate Narayana Gowda and B L Devaraj of JD(S), as the people feel that it is a 50-50 fight between them. Not many bet on Congress candidate K B Chandrasekhar.

While the people in towns and Mandya city use money as their bet, people in rural areas use chicken, sheep, goat, cattle, tractors and two-wheelers. Most of the betting is by followers of the candidates. It is their way of showing their support and love for their respective leader.

The betting was in the range of Rs 10,000 on Narayana Gowda and Rs 8,000 on Devaraj. Trusted persons of the local areas are acting as guarantors.