An FIR has been filed against Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa and his son, former MLA SS Mallikarjun, for allegedly distributing freebies in the Davanagere South Constituency ahead of the Karnataka assembly polls.
Acting on a complaint filed by Assistant Returning Officer (ARO) KTJ, the Nagar police station registered a case against both Shivashankarappa and his son. ARO Jayanna received a call from locals on March 28 evening, reporting that supporters of a politician were distributing freebies.
Following the lead, the ARO visited the spot and found a party workers in Bolero vehicle distributing freebies, including a gift box with a picture of Congress MLA Shamanur Shivashankarappa and his son’s face. The box contained a cooker, dosa tawa, kadai worth 7 lakhs. It has now been seized by the police.
Locals also alleged that the MLA distributed freebies despite the code of conduct being in effect and burned the sarees that were allegedly distributed by Shivashankarappa, claiming that no developmental work had been carried out in the constituency despite the MLA holding power for the last three terms.
“He thinks he can lure us by providing these cheap sarees with Rs 40. We didn’t need them; we have many sarees at home. Despite him being an MLA for three terms, proper developmental work is not being carried out here,” said a local resident of Davanagere South.
Meanwhile, a section of voters from the Muslim community expressed their displeasure against Congress for fielding Shamanur Shivashankarappa from Davanagere South, stating that they needed someone from their community to represent them as there are more than 83,000 Muslims residing in the Constituency.
“In the Davanagere South Constituency, the population of minorities is 83,000, and people here want someone from the Muslim community to represent us. Still, Shivashankarappa, who is 93, has sought a ticket here. I would like to say that the minorities here won’t vote for him, and we’ll send him home,” added another local resident.
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