BENGALURU: In a twisted definition of democracy, on May 23, it is the people who would have won in Mandya and surrounding areas, regardless of Sumalatha or Nikhil Kumar winning the election.
A bustling ‘satta’ or betting market has mushroomed in Mandya and elsewhere in the state with people betting big on who they think will win certain seats in the polls.
The betting is so widespread this year, that the state police chief Neelamani Raju has issued directives asking for a crackdown on these activities, with special teams being formed to gather intelligence and take action against the punters. However, this exercise has barely affected ‘punters’ in the field who continue to take bets ranging between Rs 100 to lakhs of rupees.
“A popular market in North India, the politics based ‘satta bazaar’ is a new entrant to Karnataka and huge amounts of money are floating around in this market for the Lok Sabha elections,” a senior police officer said. Some of the high profile constituencies, like Mandya, Hassan, Tumkur, Chikkodi and Gulbarga have become hotbeds for poll-related gambling.
In Mandya for instance, if you bet Rs 1 lakh on Sumalatha, you will receive Rs 1.8 lakh if she is elected and if you bet Rs 1 lakh on Nikhil Gowda, then you win Rs 1.4 lakh if he wins. What this essentially means is that the expectation of a Nikhil win is high, which is why the payout is lower on the odds on him.
These dens are very hard to penetrate, police officials say. “We received complaints from women who told us that their husbands and sons had even resorted to selling land, property, cattle and vehicles to cough up the money for the bets. It is difficult to enter this close-knit group as they mostly operate online through WhatsApp groups and apps,” the officer added, while pointing out that not even a single case of political betting had been cracked so far.
For setting the odds, the punters do not rely on exit polls or media coverage.
“We only look at the news doing the rounds of the ‘satta bazaar’. The last week before the announcement of results is crucial and the name leading in that week is sure to be the winner,” explained a punter who is a veteran of five elections. Factors like voter turnout, profile of candidate and equations with parties also help in deciding the odds.
Meanwhile, the other favourites are Malikarjun Kharge in Gulbarga, G S Basavaraj in Tumkur, Prajwal Gowda in Hassan and Annasaheb jolle in Chikkodi. Betting on national politics is also part of the portfolio of punters in the state who link to networks in Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharastra.
