Orange Democratic Movement party Director of Communications Philip Etale has yet again taken a swipe at leaders campaigning in Luhya land.
The western region has been a major destination point for Deputy President William Ruto, who is keen to dislodge opposition's influence.
For the last two years, Ruto has made over 30 trips to the region with the latest coming on Friday in Vihiga.
But Etale now says it's difficult to hold Luhya voters by using money, adding that they will always pick leaders based on conscious.
"You can FLIRT with Luhya people, entertain them, buy them cookies and spend all your fortune on them, but one thing you can never do is to keep them as your PETS," he wrote on Twitter.
Etale's comments comes at the time Musalia Mudavadi, the region's perceived kingpin, is trying to walk a different path having withdrawn his support for Raila Odinga.
Political observers say that Mudavadi is struggling to remove the ‘Raila-man’ label and ring-fence his Western vote bloc in readiness for a mega political pact.
“For years, Mudavadi has been seen as a Raila man. It was Raila who removed him from political rags and that has stuck in the minds of most voters in Western,” governance expert Javas Bigambo said recently, according to the Star.