Today, 14 Lok Sabha constituencies out of the total 28 in Karnataka will cast their votes. Key constituencies going to polls today include Bengaluru Rural, Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru South, Mandya, and Mysuru.
The main contestants from Bangalore are M.V. Rajeev Gowda (INC) and Shobha Karandlaje (BJP) from Bangalore North constituency; Tejasvi Surya (BJP) and Sowmya Reddy (INC) from Bangalore South constituency; P.C. Mohan (BJP) and Mansoor Ali Khan (INC) from Bangalore Central constituency and Dr. C.N. Manjunath (BJP) andd D.K. Suresh (INC).
The polling started at 7 a.m. Our reporters bring you live update from the booths.
According to the Election Commission, the current voter turnout of Karnataka is 64.37 percent. The constituency with highest voter turnout yet is Mandya, with 74.87 percent, and the lowest is Bengaluru South with 49.37 percent. Bengaluru has lesser voter turnout than other parliamentary constituencies having polls today.
Voter turnout in Bangalore:
Bengaluru South: 52.94 percent
Bengaluru North: 53.66 percent
Bengaluru Central: 53.33percent
Bengaluru Rural: 65.72 percent
Average voter turnout in Bangalore was 56.4 percent (approx.)
6 p.m. Polling concluded
5.57 p.m. Padamanabhanagar (Bangalore Rural)
In an exclusive interview with The SoftCopy, C.N. Manjunath said that he is certain of his win. He said that he has campaigned in his constituency for the past three months and he is sure that the voters of his constituency will support him.
5.30 p.m. Shantinagar (Bangalore Central)
The Election Commission of India (ECI) denied claims made by a voter from Shantinagar that the VVPAT the ballot button on the control unit was not activated by the polling officer when he was casting his vote.
4.30 p.m. Jayanagar (Bangalore South)
BJP candidate Tejasvi Surya from Bangalore South constituency has been booked for violation of election code of conduct and seeking votes in the name of religion.
3.19 p.m. Bangalore North
Despite a ban on mobile phones inside polling booths, many voters are taking videos of casting their vote inside the booth.
3.14 p.m. Padmanabhnagar (Bangalore South)
Film actor and director Ramesh Aravind along with his family voted at the BNM School polling station in Padmanabhanagar.
2.56 p.m.
2.52 p.m. Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Bangalore Rural)
The issue with Electronic Voting Machines (EVM) failures has been fixed at the Panchasheela polling station in Rajarajeshwari Nagar. “We had an issue with the EVMs in the morning but the issue was resolved immediately, and the voting has been going smoothly,” Polling Officer Jagadeesh said.
Out of the 1002 registered voters, 279 women and 326 men cast their votes at the Panchasheela polling station.
2.29 p.m. Malleshwaram (Bangalore North)
Manipal Hospital has taken an initiative to take patients out to cast their vote. Four people have been sent from the Malleshwaram branch since morning, and the management has planned to take 45 patients to cast their vote.
Kartik, a member of management team of Manipal Hospital said, “Some patients are reluctant to vote due to their poor health. We are trying to take maximum number of patients out to cast their vote.”
2.20 p.m. Bangalore Central
PC Mohan, along with his wife and daughter, cast his vote at a Bangalore Central polling station. He urged others to cast their votes.
2.07 p.m. Vasanth Nagar (Bangalore Central)
Low voter turnout at Vasanth Nagar polling station currently due to the heat.
1.30 p.m. J.C. Nagar (Bangalore Central)
Voters at a J.C. Nagar polling station are facing difficulty as they lack access to drinking water. Additionally, VV PAT in the polling booths are not showing the slips.
1.30. p.m. Vijayanagar (Bangalore South)
At the Vijayanagar polling station, voters had no access to drinking water in the scorching heat.
CityCast’s Rahul Dhingra reports from a polling station in Vijaynagar.
1.05 p.m Malleshwaram (Bangalore North)
Congress party members violate Section 130 of The Representation of People Act as they are working within 100 meters of the polling booth. They said they are working for a social cause today. Amit, a Congress party member said, “We are helping the voters today and we do not have any personal interest.”
12.46 p.m Vijayanagar (Bangalore South)
Voters rued over lack of facilities in the polling station. Sripriya, who cast her first vote today had to wait for more than half an hour to cast her vote. “It was really hot outside and the tent in front of the booth was so small that only few can use it. The rest had to stand in the scorching heat. It would have been better if the tent was a bit larger, and had drinking water facility, ” she said.
Hemanth Kumar, a voter, complained about the heat and the long queue in polling booths. He suggested that authorities should have made better arrangements considering the rising temperatures in the city. Drinking water facilities should have been provided in the booths, he said. He added that no matter what, he would cast his vote, as it was his right.
12.30 p.m. Shivajinagar (Bangalore Central)
Discrepancies in voter’s list found at Al – Mubarak Nursery Primary and Girls English High School polling station, J. C. Nagar. M.D. Anwar, a voter, said that his name is changed in the voter’s list. “I am waiting outside the polling station to talk to the polling officer.”
Two other voters, Anwar Pasha and Siraj said that their names are missing from the voter’s list. “I have been voting for the past 40 years. This is the first time I am facing an issue like this,” Siraj said. Both of them are waiting outside the polling station to find if they can cast their votes.
12.22 p.m. Gandhinagar (Bangalore Central)
Out of 906 registered voters, 398 have cast their votes in Seshadripuram College polling station. Abhay Surya, a first-time voter said, “It was an amazing experience to vote, and I feel like I fulfilled my responsibility towards my country.”
12.15 p.m Jayanagar (Bangalore South)
Manipal Hospital has taken an initiative to take patients out to cast their vote. A 78-year-old woman reached the polling center on oxygen support to cast her vote.
11.45 a.m. Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Bangalore Rural)
Despite Section 130 of The Representation of People Act stating that political campaigning is prohibited within 100 metres of the polling stations, party members from both Indian National Congress (INC) Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were seen persuading the voters to vote for their respective parties outside the B.E.T School as the voters entered through the barricades. Juice and water was handed out to the voters while the party members manned tables to provide directions.
11.40 a.m. Jayanagar (Bangalore South)
Asha Raman, a 78-year-old who cast her vote at National College polling station said that voting is important as the country needs to select representatives to work in an organized manner. “The nation will not progress if I do what I like or another person does what they like. Even after 75 years of independence, issues which still need to be addressed exist. We need a drastic change,” she said.
11 a.m. Govindaraja Nagar (Bangalore South)
Gokul, a middle-aged man who came to the polling booth with his 87 year old father Palani, said that he could not apply for the home voting facility for senior citizens, as he came to know about it late. He was happy with the facilities in the booth. “Senior citizens are given priority, if they are in the back of the line they are called to the front and are allowed to cast vote.”
Prakriti, came to her hometown in Marenahalli to cast her vote. However, she did not have a QR code in her voter’s slip, as announced by the Chief Election Commission.
11 a.m. Malleshwaram (Bangalore North)
At MES College polling booth, 321 out of the 1045 voters cast their votes.
11 a.m. Shivajinagar (Bangalore Central)
A delay in printing the slip by the Voter-Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machine is delaying the polling process in booth 6 at Al – Mubarak Nursery Primary and Girls English High School, J. C. Nagar. Unaid Ibrahim, an Assistant Presiding Officer at National College polling station, who cast his vote at Al-Mubarak School, said, “Once a voter casts his vote, the slip should be generated within five to 10 seconds. But here, printing of slip after the voter castes his vote is getting delayed. This has delayed the whole process.” He added that the VVPAT would not be replaced unless it stops functioning. Mr. Girish, an EC official, said that the complaint has been noted and he sent a team to investigate.
11 a.m. Pulakeshinagar (Bangalore North)
Security tightened at a polling booth in Pulakeshinagar, after an anti-corruption official stopped a person from double voting.
10.50 a.m. Padmanabhanagar (Bangalore South)
Bangalore Rural candidate Dr. Manjunath along with his wife and children cast his vote in Padamanabhanagar. He is contesting for the seat along with Congress’s D. K. Suresh.
He said that he is assured of his win. He said that he has campaigned in his constituency for the past 3 months and he is sure that the voters of his constituency will support him.
Reacting to the open support of Vokalligas to Congress, he said that he is certain that people of his constituency will support the BJP keeping in mind the work they have done for the people.
10:45 a.m. Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Bangalore Rural)
Nikita, 18, a first-time voter said she had registered herself online to vote and carried all the required documents. However, despite having fulfilled the requirements, she was turned away from voting because the officials did not find her name in the registered voters list. “I was told to come back next year to vote. I had registered online and I had all my documents with me,” she said.
10:30 a.m. Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Bangalore Rural)
Polling booths in the Rajarajeshwari Nagar constituency see no voters. Heat and lack of disabled-friendly facilities at the booths deter voters, returning officers said.
10.10 a.m. Pulakeshinagar (Bangalore North)
A volunteer at the election booth said, “The voting turnout at our station stands at 22 percent. However, around 10 percent of the registered voters did not vote due to outdated voter IDs.”
10.10 a.m. Shanti Nagar (Bangalore Central)
Polling booths in Shanti Nagar are seeing low to moderate voter turnout, returning officers say. Bishop Cotton’s Girls School, which has two polling booths saw a low voter turnout in the initial hours. Voters are trickling in as time progresses.
10 a.m. Nrupathunga Road, Whitefield and Rajajinagar
Several outlets in Bangalore are giving out free dosas and discounts on their meals for all voters today. Huge crowds and long line can be seen in areas like Nrupathunga Road, Whitefield and Rajajinagar. Read more
10 a.m. Ramanagara (Bangalore Rural)
Returning officers at polling booths in Bidadi said that around 10 percent of the voters had cast their votes in the first three hours. As many elderly voters turned up at the booths, they expressed that having special vehicles to commute to and from the booths would have made voting easier for them.
9.30 a.m. Govindaraja Nagar (Bangalore South)
Government High School, 23rd Cross, in Govindaraja Nagar of Bangalore South, has 1055 voters. The officials said that by 9.30 a.m. more than 200 voters had turned up at the booth including youth, women, and the elderly. The polling officials said that the voting has been going on in full force. Polling officials are accompanying the disabled and elderly to the polling booths. A security official at the booth said that the booth is equipped with a medical kit.