The political war, often comprising hate campaigns and mudslinging, once again took a similar course in the state of Karnataka as well. Many residents of Bengaluru got to witness posters with the face of Chief Minister asking them to "Pay CM" with a QR code. Once clicked, the code redirects users to INC Karnataka's poll campaign and a corruption complaint website, 40percentsarkara.com. The party claims to have received 95,541 complaints of corruption by Wednesday from across the state.

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Image--Twitter@anusharavi10

The police removes the posters

After the videos and images of the posters went viral on social media, the police removed the posters targeting the Chief Minister. The posters were spotted on a few streets across Bengaluru, including CV Raman Road near Mekhri Circle.

Chief Minister BS Bommai responds

Calling the allegations baseless and the campaign, pseudo, Chief Minister BS Bommai, during an interaction with the media, said that this was an attempt to defame him and defame the state.

While some applauded the novelty of the election campaign, others found the method nothing more than mudslinging. Social media was divided about the posters.

What's 40 percent commission?

Last month, the leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah dared Basavaraj Bommai's government to order a judicial probe looking into the allegations of 40% commission in government contracts. He had also said that the BJP government in the state should accept Karnataka State Contractors' Association's demand for a probe.

In a press conference, he had also alleged that demand for a commission was rampant across the government departments comprising PWD, Irrigation, and Rural and Urban Development Departments.

"How can contractors take up work if bills are not cleared? After taking away 40 per cent as commission, 15% for GST, 20% profit for the contractor, only 25% is left for executing the work." 

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