Report by Melka Miyar - pics - Dayanand Kukkaje
Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (MM)

Mangalore, Sep 28: The Mangalore City Corporation is witnessing another mega war now. But it is the war not with words but with ballot.  So it is now the voters’ time to decide the fate of the candidates.

The voters have already started casting vote in the early hours of Friday September 28. Voting began at 7 O’clock on a quiet note. Basically, daily wage workers rushed to voting booths early in the morning to exercise their franchise, so that they can go for work later. Hence the voting booths in the interior and backward areas were busy in the early hours.

Only those voters who have voters’ ID are allowed to vote.  The election commission has however, allowed 19 other identity proofs as alternative to voters’ ID. So those who do not have voters’ ID can also vote if they produce one of these identity proofs and cast their franchise.

Meanwhile the voting booths in main places were found not so busy in the early hours. On the other hand the political parties are busy trying to appease voters at the eleventh hours by providing the transport facility to come to voting booths.

Since it is a local election, many independent candidates are successful in competing with national party candidates. Many former corporators, whom the political parties denied ticket, are competing as independent candidates. This has indeed created worry in the minds of BJP and Congress candidates in many wards of City Corporation.

Out of 60 wards, Congress and BJP are contesting for 59 wards each. Congress is supporting CPI in one ward and BJP is supporting independent candidate in one ward. In the last election, Congress won 42 seats and BJP 14. This time the BJP is trying to overtake Congress. The counting will be done on Sunday September 30 in the Karnataka Polytechnique (KPT) premises.