Karnataka Assembly Elections: Watches to lure voters?

Zee Media Bureau Bangalore: As the clock continues to tick faster for Karnataka Assembly polls, main political parties in fray are reportedly distributing watches to the voters to tilt the time in their favour. JD (S) leader PGR Sindhia claimed that Congress leader DK Shivakumar was distributing watches with his images and that of Rajiv Gandhi to voters, according to a TV channel report. However Shivkumar denied the claim saying that the watches were being gifted only to the party members and the move was not meant to attract voters. The Congress leader, in turn, alleged that it was the JD (S), who was doing the same. To buttress his claim, Shivkumar also provided some gold-plated watches with images of JD (S) leader HD Kumaraswamy and Sindhia. When questioned, Sindhia said he knew nothing about the watches with his image on them. He denied that the watches were being distributed by the JD (S) and blamed the Congress leader for the conspiracy. Though, the Election Commission has taken stricter steps to curb the practice of alluring voters by distributing cash, or other valuables like laptops, watches and jewellery, heavyweight candidates often manage to do the same by discovering new ways of attracting votes. The Congress and the JD(S) have both accused each other of handing out watches in hope of votes, but only time will tell that whose time would come to rule Karnataka.