The fierce, high-decibel election to the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies of Karnataka witnessed an estimated voter turnout of 66.21% in the first phase on Thursday. Polling was largely peaceful except for stray incidents of violence and large-scale complaints of missing names in the electoral rolls.
Bengaluru’s voter apathy continued with just about 48% of the city’s voters showing up at polling stations in the Bangalore North, Bangalore Central and Bangalore South constituencies. The average voter turnout in Bengaluru in the 2014 Lok Sabha polls was 55.95%. A total of 2.67 crore citizens were eligible to vote. In 2014, these 14 Lok Sabha constituencies recorded 68.6% voter turnout.
Chief Electoral Officer Sanjiv Kumar said the voter turnout could touch 69% once the final reports are obtained from the returning officers. The Election Commission will release the final voting figures on Friday.
The commission had, on its official mobile app, shown a “tentative” voter turnout of 69%, with the highest in the Mandya segment (80%) where Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy’s son Nikhil was locked in an intense fight with independent candidate Sumalatha, the wife of late actor-turned-politician M H Ambareesh.
However, according to figures released by the CEO, the highest voter turnout as of 6 pm Thursday was 77.22% recorded in the Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha segment, followed by Tumkur (77.03%) where former prime minister H D Deve Gowda is contesting.
The lowest turnout was in Bangalore Central at 47.31%.
Widespread complaints from voters about their names “missing” from the electoral rolls were reported from almost all constituencies. Aggrieved citizens expressed their ire on social media.
Violence, disruption
Polling was disrupted for some time in some places due to technical glitches.
Two incidents of violence were reported from the Mandya LS constituency. The police had to resort to mild lathicharge when two groups clashed in the village of Doddarasinakere, Ambareesh’s native place, in the presence of Nikhil. In another incident in Malavalli, some JD(S) workers reportedly thrashed a polling agent accusing him of urging citizens to vote for Sumalatha.
In Honnur of Chitradurga, a skirmish between Congress and BJP workers left one person injured.
A total of 241 candidates were in the fray across the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies spread across the Old Mysore region and some coastal districts. This election is touted as a litmus test for the Congress-JD(S) alliance against the BJP. The outcome of the polls could have a bearing on the longevity of the Kumaraswamy-led coalition government.
Prominent candidates who went to polls on Thursday included former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda (Tumkur), his grandsons Nikhil (Mandya) and Prajwal Revanna (Hassan). Union Minister D V Sadananda Gowda (Bangalore North), senior Congress leaders M Veerappa Moily (Chikkaballapur) and K H Muniyappa (Kolar) were also in the fray. BJP’s L S Tejasvi Surya faced senior Congressman B K Hariprasad in Bangalore South.