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Notice how some of our politicians have been going beyond cuddling babies and hugging toothless grannies? Wake up and smell the coffee
Filling the air with speeches and speeches with air is passe. Our netas are doing it in style these days. As the campaign drama ends today, MiD DAY tracks some of the innovative ones in Bangalore from models as election accessories to buses as low-cost podiums.
Koffee with Krishna
Sorry, Karan, but Krishna Byre Gowda was the star of this one. The Congress candidate from Bangalore South met youngsters at a coffee outlet and deftly handled a range of questions from moral policing and individual liberty to traffic congestion and the city's infrastructure.
AK Connect
Ananth Kumar, the four-time BJP MP from Bangalore South, put his mobile phone to good use and no, this is not about sending SMSes to voters. He used a mobile multimedia platform to interact with voters and claimed he could do so in real time.
He said they could ask him questions by downloading the application on their mobiles, and he would himself answer them. No ghostwriters for this one, eh?
Vatal's coconut sale
Kannada activist Vatal Nagaraj, who is contesting from Bangalore North, is well known for his innovative protests. This time, he sold coconuts at Majestic for Rs 99 a piece and popularised his election symbol in the process. He said he would use the money for campaigning. The election commission issued him a notice but Nagaraj isn't looking overly worried.
Ride with Gopinath
Capt Gopinath, credited with giving the common man wings, mingled with the aam aadmi on BMTC buses and bus stations. He hopped on to buses in his constituency and spoke to the people on board. He said it was his way to get close to people from different strata of society.
Vijay Raj Singh's eye candy
Nobody had heard of this Bahujan Samaj Party candidate until he got models and actress Sanjana to accompany him as he walked down M G Road and Brigade Road, asking people for votes. Later, he got actresses Lakshmi Rai and Aarti Chabbria to accompany him while campaigning on CMH Road.
He said he respected women and wanted Mayawati to be the next prime minister. He said the models, er, highlighted his cause. | 
