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Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru/Udupi (SP)

Mangaluru/Udupi, May 12: After days of intense campaigning that saw a whole lot of accusations and counter-accusations, controversies and star campaigners, Karnataka went to polls on Saturday May 12.

Voters queued up in front of their respective polling booths in large numbers in Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts as polling for the Karnataka assembly elections began at 7 am.

The final voter turnout in Dakshina Kannada district was 77.63%, with Mangaluru South recording a turnout of 67.47%, Mangaluru North 74.55%, Beltangady 81.40%, Moodbidri 75.41%, Bantwal 81.89%, Puttur 81.70% and Sullia 83%. Altogether, 24 control units, 21 ballot units and 42 VVPATs were found faulty and were immediately fixed or replaced.

The total turnout at the end of the day in Udupi district was 78.57%, with Udupi taluk polling 77.38%, Byndoor 77.76%, Kundapur 79.05%, Kaup 76.79% and Karkala 77.85%.

The polling was largely peaceful in both districts. No untoward incidents were reported.

The voter turnout at 5 pm, just one hour before the close of polling, was 72.05% in Dakshina Kannada, with Mangaluru South polling 64.93%, Mangaluru North 71.29%, Beltangady 78%, Moodbidri 65%, Ullal 71.51%, Bantwal 79.07%, Puttur 78.47% and Sullia 75.30%.

In Udupi district, the total percentage of voter turnout stood at 75.68%, with Udupi taluk recording 75.59, Byndoor 75.66%, Kundapur 75.76%, Kaup 76.08% and Karkala 75.03%.

By 3 pm, Dakshina Kannada recorded a voter turnout of 55.26%, with Mangaluru South polling 53.63%, Mangaluru North 60.23%, Moodbidri 60.84%, Ullal 60.57%, Beltangady 65.12%, Bantwal 67.64%, Puttur 65.31% and Sullia 46.65%.

Udupi district saw a voter turnout of 63.50% by 3 pm, with Udupi taluk polling 63.56%, Byndoor 63.74%, Kundapur 62.29%, Kaup 63.57% and Karkala 64.54%.

The state-wide percentage at 3 pm was 52.40%. 

The voter turnout in Dakshina Kannada at 1 pm was 46%, with Mangaluru South recording a turnout of 39%, Mangaluru North 48%, Beltangady 52%, Moodbidri 43%, Ullal 47%, Bantwal 53%, Puttur 51% and Sullia 43%.

In Udupi district, the voter turnout was 50.66%, with Udupi taluk seeing a turnout of 50.96%, Kaup 49.44 percent, Karkala 52.13%, Byndoor 50.62% and Kundapur 49.78 percent. Bhatkal saw a voter turnout of 48% by 1 pm.

In Beltangady, a 70-year-old voter, identified as Anni Acharya, who was on his way to the polling station to cast his vote, passed away due to cardiac arrest.

By 11 am, Dakshina Kannada recorded a voter turnout of 24.79 percent, with Mangaluru South polling 23%, Mangaluru North 30%, Moodbidri 19%, Ullal 30%, Bantwal 29%, Beltangady 26%, Puttur 21% and Sullia 30.25%.

Udupi district recorded a turnout of 30.07 percent by 11 am, with Udupi taluk polling 31.91%, Byndoor 29.26, Kundapur 32.39%, Kaup 33.99% and Karkala 32.43%.

Overall, Karnataka saw a voter turnout of 24 percent by 11 am.

By 9.30 am, Mangaluru South saw a voter turnout of 4 percent, Mangaluru North 11%, Mangaluru (Ullal) 14%, Bantwal 9%, Beltangady 16%, Moodbidri 10.76%, Puttur 13 percent and Sullia 16%.

By 9 am, Udupi district saw a total turnout of 9.24 percent, with Byndoor polling 6.43%, Kundapur 9.96%, Udupi taluk 8.65% , Kaup 10.41% and Karkala 11.15%

The overall turnout in Karnataka at 9.15 am was 10.51 percent.

Mangaluru South Congress candidate J R Lobo cast his vote at St Sebastian schooll, Bendore, while independent candidate Srikar Prabhu cast his vote at Ganapathi high school, Hampankatta.

BJP candidate Vedavyas Kamath and MP Nalin Kumar Kateel voted at Gandhinagar polling booth in Urwa.

In Udupi, Congress candidate and MLAs Pramod Madhwaraj and Vinaykumar Sorake voted at Shree Narayanan Guru English Medium School, Malpe and Udupi Girls College respectively. Madhwaraj came along with his mother Manorama Madhwaraj. Rajya Sabha MP Oscar Fernandes voted at Vivekananda School, Ajjarkad. Kundapur Congress candidate Gopal Poojary voted in Kanyana. Kundapur BJP candidate Halady Srinivas voted at Halady, while Congress candidate Rakesh Malli voted at Ankadakatte.

In Ullal, MLA and Congress candidate U T Khader cast his vote at Boliyar government primary school, while his opponent Santosh Rai Boliyar from BJP voted at Panela higher primary school. 

Mangaluru South

Udupi and Kundapur

Ullal

Bhatkal

There were complaints regarding malfunctioning of voting machines in a few polling booths. In a pink booth at Udupi Christian School, several voters were made to vote as the EVM was being fixed. A similar situation was reported at Kukkikatte school too, where there was a verbal clash and police had to intervene. Polling resumed only after the EVMs were replaced. In Uppinangady, voters reportedly returned home after voting for long for the EVM to be repaired. Sources said that the EVMs malfunctioned due to presence of moisture following overnight rains. In Sullia, voters had to wait as polling began late due to faulty EVM.

As many as 58 candidates are fighting it out in the eight assembly constituencies located within Dakshina Kannada district. 1858 polling booths have been set up in the district, which are being manned by 13,176 electoral staff and 5,700 police personnel. The district has 17.12 lac voters comprising 8.41 lac male voters and 8.71 lac female voters. The district has about a hundred transgender voters.

Election staff and police personnel collected electronic voting machines and other paraphernalia from mustering centres and reached their respective polling booths on Friday afternoon. The district has 20 pink polling booths and five ethnic polling booths which have been decorated in traditional way. 7,569 electronic voting machines have been provided to 1,858 polling booths, which is much more than the 20 percent reserve required to be maintained. The EVMs comprise of ballot units, control units, and vvpat units.

Each of the constituencies has an electoral officer. Every polling booth is manned by a presiding officer, four polling officers, a group 'D' employee and a police personnel. In booths identified as difficult centres, micro observers have been posted. Web casting has been arranged in 97 polling booths while micro observers have been provided in 221 poolling booths.

District electoral officer, Sasikanth Senthil, said that prohibitory orders under section 14 have been issued and the same would lbe in affect from 6 pm on May 10 to 6 pm on May 12 all over the district.

In Udupi, 34 candidates will vie with each other for five constituencies in the district. 9.93 lac voters (4.78 lac men, 5.75 lac women) are eligible to cast their votes through 1,103 polling booths. 6,342 polling staff and 2,500 security personnel have been deployed to handle election work. There are ten pink booths in the district and 555 wheel chairs have been kept ready for the use of differently abled persons. The government model higher primary school at Tekkatte has been designated as polling booth for the differently abled. Three booths have been treated as tribal booths.

In Kaup and Kundapur constituencies, indelible ink will be smeared to the left middle fingers of voters as gram panchyat bypoll had taken place there recently. Counting of votes will take place on May 15 and result is expected by the same evening.

The Election Commission has made elaborate arrangements to hold Karnataka assembly election in a free and fair manner. Polling will take place between 7 am to 6 pm on Saturday May 12 except in Jayanagar and Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituencies in the city where the polling has been countermanded. Therefore, fate of candidates who have entered the fray in 222 assembly constituencies in the state will be sealed by the electorate by Saturday evening.

Nearly 2,700 candidates including 221 each from Congress and BJP and 217 from JD(S) and BSP are in the fray. The political future of chief minister, Siddaramaiah, BJP state president, B S Yeddyuyrappa, JD(S) state president, Kumaraswamy, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee president, Dr G Parameshwar, and several other high profile political personalities will be decided by voters today.

Mulbagal constituency in Kolar district is witnessing highest number of candidates with 39 candidates remaining in the fray there. Challakere in Chitradurga district and Sedam in Kalaburagi district have four candidates each, which happens to be he lowest in any constituency. In 23 constituencies, more than 15 candidates are fighting it out, necessitating setting up of two electronic voting machines and VVPat units.

Over 5.06 crore voters including 2.56 crore men, 2.5 crore women and over 5,000 transgenders are eligible to cast their votes in this election. 43,653 police personnel, 22,172 home guards, 2,000 civilian service corps and about 3,000 personnel drawn from other entities have been entrusted with election duty. 585 contingents of central armed forces are also involved with election work. These squads will be associated with flying squads and sector squads apart from sensitive polling booths where armed protection is being provided.

Polling will take place in over 58,000 polling booths including about 12,000 grouped as sensitive.

State director general of police, Neelamani N Raju, assured the public that unprecedented arrangements have been put in place by the police department to facilitate voters to cast their votes without any obstacles or problems.

State chief electoral officer, Sanjiv Kumar, has asked the electorate to exercise their franchise without any pressure or apprehension and without falling to any lure. He said that the commission has made all preparations for the poll.

Over 3.65 lac election staff and 1.4 lac officers along with security staff have already reached the polling booths assigned to them along with electronic voting machines and other paraphernalia for smooth conduct of the election. They are ready for receiving the voters and as per instructions, mock drill was held early in the day in the presence of election agents.

For the first time, election commission has made special arrangements to facilitate women, senior citizens and specially abled voters to encourage them to take part in voting. Special polling booths designated as pink booths duly decorated have been set up where the number of women voters is considerable. Arrangements have also been made to provide basic facilities to voters including drinking water in polling booths.

Sale of liquor has been banned all over the state and prohibitory orders under section 144 have been issued.