BANGALORE, APRIL 23, 2009: Betting on the poll outcome in constituencies in and around Bangalore is on in fullswing.
The punters are very keen on the result of the constituencies such as Bangalore South, Bangalore Central, Bangalore North and Bangalore Rural where the fight between Ananthkumar and Krishna Byregowda, HT Sangliana and PC Mohan, Jaffer Sharief and DB Chandregowda, and HD Kumaraswamy and Tejaswini Gowda are contesting.
In Bangalore constituencies, there is a straight fight between the Congress and BJP whereas in Bangalore Rural a triangular contest is on between the JDS, Congress and BJP. Bangalore South which is witnessing a close contest between fourtime MP H N Ananthkumar of the BJP and first-timer Krishna Byregowda of the Congress is attracting the attention of punters the most.
Though it appears very difficult to predict the winner in Bangalore South, punters here are pinning their hopes on Krishna. They feel that Krishna’s image as a foreign-educated and soft-spoken person would definitely appeal to the young and upper-middle class voters who are in majority in the constituency. But Ananthkumar is also not far behind.
There are almost an equal number of people betting on him. “You can’t dismiss Ananthkumar so easily,” says a bookie, under the condition of anonymity.Predictably, bookies have no hope in Captain Gopinath who is in the fray as an independent candidate from this constituency.
At the most he can fetch some votes from the corporate world, they say.
Kumaraswamy is the darling of punters in Bangalore Rural while Sangliana in the forefront in Bangalore Central. In Bangalore North, Sharief, according to bookies, has an edge over BJP’s Chandregowda as Muslim voters are sympathetic to him. In 2004, Sharief had to face humiliation due to a split in Muslim votes. The punters are foreseeing a win for Sharief this time as they think his son’s death could gain him sympathy votes.
WHO ARE THE PUNTERS?
Most of the bookies in Bangalore are mainly rowdy sheeters, small-time politicians, merchants and realestate agents. They take bets during election, cricket series and make some money and vanish. On Wednesday the eve of the elections, the bookies were more busy with bettings in Chamarajpet, Gandhinagar, K R Market, Avenue Road, Chikpet, Yeshwanthapura, sources said. In recent years, the betting has bloomed into a multi-crore industry. Now betting is a common phenomenon in clubs, resorts
, bars and amusement centres where rowdies, political workers and businessmen usually assemble.
Betting starts from Rs 100 to Rs 1 crore, one of the bookies in Chamrajpet said. But the Election Commission’s strict orders has forced to bookies to keep it low-profile and secretive. The police are taking stringent action and are kept an eye on many matka runners and rowdies and have issued instructions not to allow betting in clubs and other public places.
Source: The New Indian Express
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