HOLALKERE (CHITRADURGA): The taluk centre of Holalkere was decked up with buntings and flexes ahead of the arrival of BJP national president Amit Shah for a mega rally on Wednesday. But as soon as the rally was over, all the flexes and, in certain cases, even wooden poles on which they were displayed, disappeared in a jiffy.
Ahead of the rally, hundreds of flexes welcoming Shah and other BJP leaders were put up by the local BJP ticket aspirant M Chandrappa and others. Other display items welcoming the leaders included three helium balloons attached to nearby buildings. But within hours of the departure of Amit Shah from the venue, the crowd also spilled out tearing out the banners and flexes. While the flexes installed around the venue were the first to be brought down, those put up in other parts of town fell a bit later.
Shankarappa, a labourer who had secured a crumpled flex, said that they serve well while working in the field. “We can tie it to a tree and get some shade during noon,” he said. Pointing out to a group of other men who were tearing down flexes and folding them neatly for later use, he said that local cops were strict and did not allow everybody to take away the flexes.
Ramanna, an agricultural labourer, was not so lucky. As he tried to remove a large flex, he was prevented by a woman who runs a tea-shop near the venue. After a verbal duel that lasted a couple of minutes, Ramanna conceded defeat. “Everybody was removing flexes installed along the road. That woman only had problems with me,” he grumbled, before heading his way.