Bangalore, March 9 (IANS) Voting in the first of the two-phase Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka will take place six weeks from now but already liquor and saris are being stored to woo voters, an official indicated Monday.
“From several parts of Karnataka, we have seized liquor worth over Rs.290,000 meant for distribution among voters,” state chief electoral officer M.N. Vidyashankar said.
He told reporters that 80 crates of liquor being transported from Maharashtra was seized near Chikkodi in north Karnataka. Its value is estimated at Rs.135,000, he added.
Liquor has also been confiscated in Gadag, Bidar, Raichur, Bijapur, Davangere and Tumkur districts, he said.
Vidyashankar also said he had received information about plans for largescale distribution of saris in Bangalore city and neighbouring rural areas.
He did not identify who was distributing the saris. “Some people involved in election activities were planning it,” he said.