The Hindu : Karnataka News : First phase of polls in Karnataka today

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Saturday, May 10, 2008
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Karnataka

First phase of polls in Karnataka today

Special Correspondent

Future of 953 candidates to be decided

BANGALORE: The political future of 953 candidates will be decided on Saturday when 89 Legislative Assembly constituencies, spread across 11 districts in Karnataka, go to the polls in the first phase amid tight security.

As many as 513 candidates from 25 political parties and 440 independents are in the race in these constituencies. Polling will be held in 18,562 booths with 1.73 crore voters (over 88 lakh men and 84 lakh women) being eligible to exercise their franchise.

In a terse warning, Chief Electoral Officer M.N. Vidyashankar said on Friday that whoever attempted to cast a bogus vote would be dealt with under Section 171-D of the Indian Penal Code. The person who commited the offence would be imprisoned for a year with or without fine.

Polling will be videotaped in hypersensitive booths, while closed-circuit cameras have been installed to prevent bogus voting in booths that are prone to such voting. Polling will be held between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Bangalore city has the highest number of polling stations (5,685) while Mulbagal constituency in Kolar district has the highest number of candidates in the fray (29). Krishnarajanagara (Mysore), Gundlupet (Chamarajanagar), Virajpet (Kodagu), Kunigal (Tumkur) and Yeshwanthpur (Bangalore Urban) constituencies have the lowest number of candidates (five each).

The districts that go to the polls on Saturday are Tumkur, Chickballapur, Kolar, Bangalore Rural, areas under the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits, Ramanagara, Mandya, Hassan, Kodagu, Mysore and Chamarajanagar. Of the 18,562 polling booths, 6,252 booths have been classified as hypersensitive and 3,500 as sensitive.

Nearly 58,000 police personnel, including those from the paramilitary forces, have been deployed to ensure free and fair polling. One mobile police squad has been provided for every 20 booths in each constituency.

A close contest is on the cards among candidates of the Congress, the Janata Dal (S) and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The three major parties have fielded candidates in the 89 constituencies. The Bahujan Samaj Party has fielded candidates in 86 followed by the Samajwadi Party in 47, the Janata Dal (United) in 24, Sarvodaya Karnataka in 14 and Lok Paritran in 11 constituencies. Some other parties have fielded candidates in a few constituencies.

The stakes are high for the Congress, which is making a determined bid to regain its lost base in the old Mysore region amid stiff opposition by the JD(S).

For all candidates, particularly those of the Congress and the BJP, the focus has been on Bangalore city, which accounts for 28 seats out of the 89. The Congress, the BJP and the Janata Dal(S) have accorded special attention to address infrastructure bottlenecks in the State capital.

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