Karnataka Elections 2023: Poll Boycott Posters Put Up In Chikkamagaluru Villages

The Karnataka Assembly Elections are scheduled for April-May 2023 to elect MLAs for the state’s 224-member assembly. Even as the parties up the ante against each other, many villages in Karnataka’s Chikkamagaluru witnessed protests over basic facilities. An election boycott board has been put up in the Sankarakodi and Tanudi villages of Kalasa Taluk of Chikkamagaluru, ahead of the elections.

And the reason for the protests is that villagers do not get even the basic facilities in their areas. The road connecting Someswarakhan to Shankarakodi has not been repaired for the last 14 years and it has completely deteriorated, the villagers say. Earlier, a request was submitted by the Gram Panchayat to the Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai but to no avail.

The villagers have put up a banner saying that they would not vote until the road connecting these parts is completely asphalted. All the villagers of Shankarakodige, Bachchinakodige, Banadlu and Hadlu parts of Kalasa taluk have also decided to boycott the Assembly elections together. It feels that the angry villagers have left no room for compromise.

They have firmly decided to not agree to any kind of persuasion until the road is fully repaired. Citizens of a village in Koppa taluk of Chikkamagaluru have also made a similar decision. The people of Songgaru village of Herur in Koppa taluk have boycotted the Karnataka Assembly elections.

The villagers of Songgar have decided not to vote, condemning the negligence of politicians and governments for not paying attention to the construction of basic facilities like roads and bridges. Notably, all meetings of political parties have also been banned in the villages and boycott banners have been installed. The Road and Infrastructure Struggle Committee of Songgara, and the villagers have put up a banner saying that this decision has been taken (the decision to boycott the 2023 elections).

It remains to be seen whether the demands raised by the villages will be paid attention to before the polls.

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