69.56 per cent voter turnout recorded in Karnataka’s first phase of polling

Bengaluru: Karnataka recorded 69.56 per cent voter turnout in the 14 constituencies excluding a polling station in Chamarajanagar district in the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in the state, election officials said on Saturday.

Overall, the election process went peaceful in Karnataka on Friday barring an incident at a polling station in Indiganatha village of Hanur under Chamarajanagar Parlimentary Constituency where the Electronic Voting Machines were destroyed during a clash between two groups of people over whether to vote or not in the Lok Sabha elections.

The Election Commission said on Saturday that re-polling will be conducted at the said polling station in Hanur on April 29.

The highest voter turnout was recorded in Mandya (81.67 per cent), followed by Kolar (78.27 per cent) and Tumkur (78.05 per cent), the EC said.

Bangalore Central recorded 54.06 per cent, Bangalore South – 53.17 per cent, Bangalore North – 54.45 per cent and Bangalore Rural – 68.30 per cent voter turnout.

A total of 247 candidates — 226 men and 21 women — are in the fray for the first phase covering most of the southern and coastal districts, where more than 2.88 crore voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in 30,602 polling stations.

Friday’s elections witnessed a straight fight between the ruling Congress and the BJP-JD(S) combine unlike the Assembly elections in May last year which witnessed a triangular contest among the three parties.

In the first phase, the Congress contested in all 14 seats, while BJP fielded nominees in 11 and its alliance partner JD(S), which joined the National Democratic Alliance in (NDA) in September last year, in three — Hassan, Mandya and Kolar.

Besides the three, the segments where elections were held on Friday are: Udupi-Chikmagalur, Dakshina Kannada, Chitradurga, Tumkur, Mysore, Chamarajanagar, Bangalore Rural, Bangalore North, Bangalore Central, Bangalore South and Chikkballapur.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, the same 14 segments in the first phase had recorded a turnout of 68.80 per cent.

The second phase of polling for the remaining 14 constituencies in the northern parts of the state will be held on May 7.