Updated
Bangalore, Aug 21 (IANS): Around 50 percent of over 3.6 million voters cast their ballots Wednesday in the bypolls for two Lok Sabha seats from Karnataka, an official said.
"Preliminary reports reaching us soon after booths closed at 5 p.m. show that about 50 percent voting took place," an election commission spokesperson told reporters here.
Voting took place for Bangalore Rural and Mandya Lok Sabha seats. Mandya is about 80 km from Bangalore.
Bangalore Rural has over two million voters, around 900,000 of them women. Mandya has more than 1.6 million voters, nearly half of them women.
Voting booths opened at 8 a.m. but in many places voting began late due to technical glitches in the electronic voting machines, the spokesperson said.
The election result would be out Aug 24.
The Janata Dal-Secular (JD(S)), which held both the seats, and the ruling Congress are locked in a straight battle as the Bharatiya Janata Party withdrew from the contest in support of the former.
There are 18 independents also in the fray, 11 in Bangalore Rural and seven in Mandya. The Bangalore Rural seat was held by JD(S) state president and former chief minister H. D. Kumaraswamy while Mandya was represented by N. Cheluvarayaswamy.
Both quit Lok Sabha on getting elected to Karnataka assembly in the May 5 elections, necessitating the bypolls.
Kumaraswamy, son of JD(S) president and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda, has fielded his wife Anita Kumaraswamy in Bangalore Rural.
The Congress candidate is D.K. Suresh, brother of party legislator and former minister D.K. Sureshkumar.
In Mandya, the Congress nominee is popular Kannada actor Ramya and her JD(S) opponent is former legislator C.S. Puttaraju.
Though the winners will have about nine months term in the Lok Sabha as general elections are due in April-May, the Congress and the JD(S) turned the bypoll battle into a matter of prestige.
The Congress, which returned to power in the state on its own after nine years in the May assembly elections, wanted to maintain the winning tempo and defeat the JD(S) in its stronghold.
The JD(S), particularly the Gowda family, campaigned vigorously to retain the seats as a loss would be demoralising for the party ahead of the general elections.
In the last Lok Sabha elections in 2009, the JD(S) won just three out of the 28 seats.
Noon Update
Karnataka by-election: 15% polling recorded till noon
Bangalore, Aug 21 (ZNN): Polling for two vacant Lok Sabha seats in south Karnataka began on Wednesday amid tight security arrangements made by the State Election Commission.
Around 15 percent of over 3.6 million voters cast their ballots in the first four hours of voting in the by-election for two Lok Sabha seats.
The seats of Mandya and Bangalore Rural fell vacant after the sitting MPs from the JD (Secular) resigned to join the Karnataka Assembly as MLAs after heir elections in May.
Former chief minister HD Kumaraswamy represented the Bangalore Rural seat in Lok Sabha. Kumaraswamy possibly preferred to continue as an MLA for five years in view of his uncertain future as an MP since 2014 Lok Sabha elections are just a few months away.
As an MLA and Leader of the Opposition in the State Assembly, he would be able to exert his influence in his constituency more than being an MP in Parliament.
The JD(S), however, does hope to retain the seat and keep it in the family as the party has fielded Anita Kumaraswamy, Kumaraswamy's wife and daughter-in-law of former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda.
Bangalore Rural is considered to be a JD(S) stronghold.
Meanwhile, the Congress has fielded DK Suresh, brother of former state party working president, DK Shivakumar. Shivakumar is fairly controversial - and was not considered for a cabinet berth in the Siddaramaiah Ministry despite wielding considerable clout in the region.
In Mandya, the ruling Congress has fielded actress Ramya against CS Puttaraju of the JD(S). The BJP is not contesting either seat - but is giving support to the JD(S).
The ruling Congress is confident of winning these seats to prove that its young government in the state is being appreciated by the people - while the JD(S) is also determined to retain the two Lok Sabha seats.
Bangalore Rural has over two million voters, around 900,000 of them women. Mandya has more than 1.6 million voters, nearly half of them women.
Counting of votes will be done on August 24.
Earlier:
Voting begins in Karnataka LS bypolls
Bangalore, Aug 20 (PTI): The polling for byelections to the Lok Sabha from Mandya and Bangalore Rural constituencies, began on Wednesday at 8 a.m.
An estimated 36.37 lakh voters are eligible to exercise their franchise. Security has been provided to all the 4,360 polling stations in the two constituencies to ensure peaceful voting, . Around 25,000 security personnel will be on duty. As many as 675 booths have been declared hyper-sensitive and 1,250 sensitive.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has played for high stakes in the polls that was marked by a no-holds barred attack by leaders of Congress and JDS, which has the backing of BJP for both the seats.
The bypoll was necessitated by the resignation of N Cheluvarayaswamy (Mandya) and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy (Bangalore Rural) who quit after being elected to the Assembly in May.
JDS of former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda has fielded Kumaraswamy's wife Anita from Bangalore Rural, and C S Puttaraju in Mandya. Leading Kannada actor Ramya is Congress candidate from Mandya and D K Suresh, brother of senior Congress leader and MLA D K Shivakumar from Bangalore Rural.
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha on Tuesday said about sixty teams of surveillance and flying squads would be deployed for the by-elections.
There would be a ban on exit poll on the date of poll. Any analysis in the preceding 48 hours is an offence under the Representation of People's Act, he added.
The Gowda belt of Mandya is a stronghold of JDS, which won five of the eight Assembly seats in the district in the May elections.
In Bangalore Rural, where Kumaraswamy had won by 1.3 lakh votes in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls, the Congress has secured the support of Samajwadi Party MLA, C P Yogeeshwara, who who reigned supreme in Channapa Assembly segment defeating Anita in May.