Patna: A candidate in Bihar has landed in trouble for launching a poll campaign in his constituency by riding on a buffalo. The police registered a case against the candidate, Mohammad Pervez Mansuri, under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act and also for violating COVID-19 guidelines.
Mansuri, also known as Pervez Alam, who has been fielded by the Rashtriya Ulama Council from the Gaya town seat took a buffalo ride to reach out to the voters but his move has cost him dear. The police arrested him for violating laws although he was released on bail later.
Reports said the police swung into action after his buffalo campaign drew an impressive crowd of onlookers who followed the candidate closely as he moved around the areas. The candidate has been booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, which charged him with indulging in negligent act likely to spread COVID-19 infection dangerous to life and also Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act.
No money
Mansuri said he had taken the buffalo ride since he couldn’t afford to hire a car to launch his campaign. “I don’t have money to hire a car to launch a poll campaign. I have only a buffalo in the name of property and hence I decided to campaign on buffalo,” he told the media.
He promised to make Gaya, a holy place for both the Hindus and the Buddhists, free from pollution if he managed to win elections and alleged the local Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate Prem Kumar had done nothing to change the fate of the town despite representing the seat for the past 30 years since 1990 without any break.
A large number of candidates have used buffaloes to either reach the Election office to file their nomination papers or launch the poll campaigns this time. Many say candidates have been riding buffaloes to rather draw attention of the voters who look uninterested in the poll process being carried out at the time of the pandemic.
