Photos and videos showing cutouts of BJP leaders, including Prime Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah, placed in paddy fields of Mudigere taluk as scarecrows have gone viral.
Raghu, a farmer at Halur near Daradahalli in Mudigere taluk, has put up cutouts of Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah and the former Chief Minister B.S. Yeddyurappa at his paddy field.
He took home the cutouts during the election campaign in April-May and and did not bother to remove them even after the elections were over.
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The local gram panchayat also did not remove them as the cutouts were placed in the private property of an individual. Now, the cutouts don the role of scarecrows.
The photos have been doing the rounds on social media for the past few days.
A section of media reported that such cutouts were spotted in parts of Lakkavalli hobli in Tarikere taluk. The reports prompted people around Lakkavalli to look for the paddy fields with strange scarecrows. However, they did not succeed. The origin of photos and videos has been traced to Halur.
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H.M. Panchakshari, a resident of Halur and member of Daradahalli Gram Panchayat, on Wednesday, told The Hindu: “Some farmers had got the cutouts during the election rallies. While others placed them around their houses, Mr. Raghu put them up in his paddy field. We did not know that his simple act would get so much attention”.
Ahead of the State Assembly elections, Mr. Modi, Mr. Shah, Mr. Yeddyurappa and several other BJP leaders campaigned in the district. Of the five assembly segments, the BJP has won four in the district.