<p class="title">It’s now official. Saturday witnessed an all-time record voters’ turnout with 72.36 % of the 5.06 crore electorate exercising their franchise.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As many as 15 general Assembly elections (including the one held on Saturday) were held in Karnataka and the previous highest polling was witnessed 40 years back in 1978, with a voters’ turnout of 71.9%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 2013 polls had witnessed 71.45% of the electorate turning out at the polling booths.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to the updated statistics provided by the Election Commission of India, Hoskote constituency in Bengaluru Rural district, where political greenhorn and son of former minister son B N Bachche Gowda, Sharath Gowda, has locked horns with MTB Nagaraj of the Congress, recorded the highest polling with 89.97%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the other end of the spectrum, Dasarahalli in Bengaluru Urban recorded the lowest with a mere 48.03% turnout.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In fact, the bottom five constituencies voters’ turnout-wise fall within Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits or Bengaluru Urban.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A good voter turnout is attributed to many reasons by political analysts, including that it could be an indication of the electorate voting for a change. At the same time, the CI undertook a slew of measures to encourage more people, especially youth, to participate in the electoral process. However, voters in Bengaluru continued to be apathetic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Among the key constituencies, Chamundeshwari, where chief minister Siddaramaiah is pitted against G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) witnessed (76.05%); Channapatna, where JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy is in a triangular fight with C P Yogeeshwara (BJP) and H M Revanna (Congress) witnessed 85.86% and Shikaripura where BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa is in fray recorded 81.45%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Badami, where Siddaramaiah is contesting his second seat against B Sriramulu of the BJP, witnessed 74.65% of the voters exercising their franchise.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The single-phase polling was held for 222 of the 224 Assembly constituencies in the state.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The election for the Jayanagar seat in Bengaluru was countermanded following the death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA B N Vijaykumar. The Election Commission also deferred the polls for Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency to May 28 after a massive row erupted over a large number of voter ID cards being found in an apartment.</p>
<p class="title">It’s now official. Saturday witnessed an all-time record voters’ turnout with 72.36 % of the 5.06 crore electorate exercising their franchise.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As many as 15 general Assembly elections (including the one held on Saturday) were held in Karnataka and the previous highest polling was witnessed 40 years back in 1978, with a voters’ turnout of 71.9%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 2013 polls had witnessed 71.45% of the electorate turning out at the polling booths.</p>.<p class="bodytext">According to the updated statistics provided by the Election Commission of India, Hoskote constituency in Bengaluru Rural district, where political greenhorn and son of former minister son B N Bachche Gowda, Sharath Gowda, has locked horns with MTB Nagaraj of the Congress, recorded the highest polling with 89.97%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At the other end of the spectrum, Dasarahalli in Bengaluru Urban recorded the lowest with a mere 48.03% turnout.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In fact, the bottom five constituencies voters’ turnout-wise fall within Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits or Bengaluru Urban.</p>.<p class="bodytext">A good voter turnout is attributed to many reasons by political analysts, including that it could be an indication of the electorate voting for a change. At the same time, the CI undertook a slew of measures to encourage more people, especially youth, to participate in the electoral process. However, voters in Bengaluru continued to be apathetic.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Among the key constituencies, Chamundeshwari, where chief minister Siddaramaiah is pitted against G T Deve Gowda of the JD(S) witnessed (76.05%); Channapatna, where JD(S) state president H D Kumaraswamy is in a triangular fight with C P Yogeeshwara (BJP) and H M Revanna (Congress) witnessed 85.86% and Shikaripura where BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa is in fray recorded 81.45%.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Badami, where Siddaramaiah is contesting his second seat against B Sriramulu of the BJP, witnessed 74.65% of the voters exercising their franchise.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The single-phase polling was held for 222 of the 224 Assembly constituencies in the state.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The election for the Jayanagar seat in Bengaluru was countermanded following the death of BJP candidate and sitting MLA B N Vijaykumar. The Election Commission also deferred the polls for Rajarajeswari Nagar constituency to May 28 after a massive row erupted over a large number of voter ID cards being found in an apartment.</p>