ANANTAPUR: It’s Double Dhamaka for the inhabitants of the state boundary areas of AP. They have also enrolled as voters in Karnataka after the parties or candidates from the adjacent assembly segments in the poll-bound state started offering them inducements like cash for their vote.
At least 15 assembly segments of Karnataka, located closer to the AP borders, will feel the impact of the additional votes from AP side.
The Karnataka assembly polls are witnessing mainly a triangular fight and independents are also in the fray. This makes the fight very close; and each vote counts.
Even as a voter ID-Adhaar card linkage was on to weed out the practice of “double voters” across the country, very few of the voters from the border areas got this done so far. The Centre, meanwhile, extended the date for this linkage by a few more months.
Thousands of voters from AP, who also have their vote in Karnataka villages, existed across the boundary region. Enrollment in both states has been on for many decades and the system of double-votes continued even after the bifurcation of states on linguistic grounds.
Such voting takes place in general elections as also for local body polls. At least 15,000 voters from Madakasira segment of Satya Sai district in AP have their vote in four assembly segments of Karnataka -- Pavagada, Madhugiri, Sira and Hiriyur. Similarly, Rayadurg and Kalyanadurgam assembly segments in Anantapur district as also Mantralayam, Alur and Adoni areas are located closer to Karnataka districts like Ballary, Raichur and Vijayanagar.
Some parts of Kolar adjacent to Chittoor district have border villages with votes in both states.
As the Karnataka poll date is nearing, political parties and candidates have started mobilising the border voters in their favour. Former APCC chief Raghuveer Reddy has been leading the Congress campaign in Sira, Madhugiri, Pavagada and Hiriyur. Several TD leaders are also supporting the same candidates.
