This election candidate has taken the technological lead over its rivals, it seems. Ordinary pamphlets and booklets outlining a candidate's pluses are a passe for JD(S) nominee from the Chitradurga seat K C Veerendra, who happens to be actor Doddanna's son-in-law.
Calendars distributed by him come with a quick-response (QR) code printed on every page. Smartphones are no longer a rare possession among people. Given this fact, it becomes easy for anyone to just download the QR code application, scan the code, go the link on the screen and there plays a 73-second video, attendant with a song extolling the virtues of the fort town from the movie 'Kallarali Hoovagi'.
There are also pictures of JD(S) supremo H D Deve Gowda, state president H D Kumaraswamy, BSP president Mayawati, former chief minister, the late S Bangarappa and other JD(S) leaders, besides that of the candidate himself.
B Kantharaj, the state secretary of the JD(S), said the idea came from the publicity material which were released at the time of the note ban in 2016. The publicity material had QR codes printed on them, which helped play a speech video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Incidentally, raids were conducted on the Veerendra's house at the time of demoetisation and it had ha fetched huge amount of currency, hidden in compartments of the toilet walls.