Ever newer ways to buy votes

Already, the election in AP has turned into the hardest fought battle. The high stakes involved have ensured that the candidates and their parties pull all stops to win.

It’s a battle of supremacy - a do or die battle for the parties - and they are going the whole hog. Quite interestingly, in both residuary AP and the new-born Telangana, the interest is more in the provincial polls than the central ones.

Already, AP tops in the number of cases of paid news. While 854 paid news cases have been registered across the country, our dear Andhra Pradesh leads the pack with 208 cases.

As for enticing the voters with money, AP shows the way for the whole country. While South India has a long tradition of cash for vote, AP this time is breaking all records. What is interesting is that candidates are at their innovative best when it comes to beat the prying election officials.

From dispensing cash from ATMs to buying SIMs for voters, they are devising ever newer ways to buy the voters. Net banking is also being used to transfer amounts to the voters’ money purses. According to an estimate, close to Rs 265 crore have been pumped in and out of various banks during the last one month.

-Raka@Sakshipost