BENGALURU: With voting completed in the 15 Assembly segments and the results expected on Monday, the stakes are high — for political parties and also in the ‘satta bazaar’ in many of these constituencies. The more keenly watched by bettors are Hunsur, KR Pet, Hoskote, Chikkaballapur and Gokak seats.
While K R Pet and Hunsur had seen more people betting on JDS in the run-up to the bypolls, which had witnessed high-voltage campaigns by all three prominent political parties, the odds have changed in both constituencies after voting day and Congress has emerged as a favourite in Hunsur.
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Mukthar, a businessman from Hunsur, said he has placed a bet of Rs 2 lakh in favour of HP Manjunath, the Congress candidate. “My friend has bet Rs 5 lakh on Congress in Hunsur. We had lost money in the previous election and I am hopeful that we can recover the losses as Congress is a clear favourite,” he added.
Those placing wagers are keeping themselves busy trying to a pulse of the voters as rivals claim that the BJP and JD(S) are also in the race in these two constituencies.
Ramu, a tribal, said that many are in favour of BJP as they feel that A H Vishwanath has a fair chance in the triangular contest. He said that his friend has placed bets on both Congress and BJP.
There are also some who claim that the JDS is the dark horse as the Vokkaligas have stood by the candidate and the party has also managed to win over minorities. They claimed that the odds have changed after the polling.
In KR Pet, JDS candidate Devaraj seems to be the favourite while some are also betting on who will finish second in the contest. In Hoskote and Chikkaballapur, the wagers are as high as Rs 10 to Rs 15 lakh. “I have placed a bet on Sharath Bacchegowda. I know he is and independent candidate and BJP has spent a lot of money in this constituency to ensure he loses. But I still know he will win. I don’t mind losing all of Rs 15 lakh,” said Ramachandra Gowda from Hoskote.
Interestingly, in Chikkaballapur, the toss-up is between K Sudhakar of BJP and M Anjanappa of Congress. While the two have been in the same party earlier, they have now split. Some zilla panchayat members there have reportedly wagered that if Sudhakar wins, then Anjanappa’s followers will take them to Goa on a five-day all-expense paid trip, and the other way round if he loses, said a member of ZP.
Along with the Goa plans, people here are placing bets with livestock like sheep and goats. “I have placed 6 sheep at stake for Sudhakar. Which means I might win Rs 36,000 if he wins or lose the money if he loses,” said Ramanna of Chikkaballapur. There are also wagers running up to Rs 1 lakh and mobile phones being offered over the win of their favourite candidates.
In Gokak, however, the clear win is for Ramesh Jharkiholi, say bettors. Wagers here include two-wheelers and money ranging from Rs 10,000 to Rs 3 lakh, say sources.