7.60pc turnout till 9am in Karnataka

Bengaluru: A voter turnout of 7.60 per cent is being reported from 14 constituencies in Karnataka till 9 am, with the highest number of people voting in Dakshina Kannada and the least in Bangalore Central during the first two hours.

Dakshina Kannada recorded a voting per cent of 14.94 per cent and Bangalore Central 5.41 per cent till 9 am, election officials said.

Many senior citizens cast their vote during the morning hours to avoid the summer heat.

Union minister D V Sadananda Gowda, the BJP candidate from Bangalore North, was among the early voters.

State Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy, wife Anita and son Nikhil, the JD(S) candidate from Mandya, cast their vote at Kethiganahalli which comes under Bangalore Rural seat.

Speaking to reporters later, Kumaraswamy urged people to exercise their right to franchise. “Voting is your right, please go to polling booths and vote. Your vote will decide the next government of the country,” he said.

The Congress-JD(S) alliance is fighting against the BJP in Karnataka.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitaraman and RSS joint general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale, Congress candidate in Bangalore (North) Krishna Byre Gowda also cast their vote.

Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy and wife Sudha cast their vote in Bengaluru.

Polling began at 7 am in 30,164 polling stations that are mostly in the southern part of the state, covering almost the entire old Mysuru region and a few coastal districts.

A total of 2,67,51,893 people are expected to vote to elect their representative from among 241 candidates in the fray during this phase.

Among the 241 candidates, 224 are men and 17 women.

Thirty-one candidates, the highest, are contesting from Bangalore (North) and the least from Hassan (6).

Prominent contestants in this phase are former prime minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur), his grandsons Prajwal Revanna and Nikhil Kumaraswamy from Hassan and Mandya respectively, as also Union minister Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North), and senior Congress leaders Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapura) and K H Muniyappa (Kolar).

Other candidates include multi-lingual actors and independent candidates Sumalatha Ambareesh (Mandya) and Prakash Raj (Bangalore North), and BJP’s Tejasvi Surya (Bangalore South), who is pitted against veteran Congressman B K Hariprasad.

Of the 14 constituencies going to polls, BJP and Congress had won six each in 2014 Lok Sabha elections, and JD(S) in two.

While the BJP is contesting in 13 constituencies and supporting independent candidate Sumalatha Ambareesh in Mandya, Congress and JD(S) have fielded their candidates in 10 and four constituencies, respectively.

The remaining 14 constituencies, mostly in the northern districts, will go to polls on April 23.