The Hindu : Front Page : 60 per cent vote in Karnataka phase I

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Sunday, May 11, 2008
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60 per cent vote in Karnataka phase I

Bangalore Bureau

Peaceful exercise in 89 constituencies

Bangalore: The first phase of polling for 89 of the 224 seats in the Karnataka Assembly elections passed off peacefully, barring some minor incidents of violence, on Saturday.

The 11 districts, where elections were held, recorded an average voting of about 60 per cent, below the State average of 65 per cent in the 2004 poll. The low turnout was particularly marked in the metropolitan area of Bangalore city comprising 28 constituencies, which recorded 44 per cent compared to nearly 48 per cent in 2004.

Chief Election Commissioner N. Gopalaswami told The Hindu that the credit should go to the people, polling personnel, the police and paramilitary forces for ensuring a peaceful, free and fair poll. But for a few instances of impersonation and attempts to use fake voter identity cards, people patiently waited in queues to exercise their franchise.

The fate of 953 candidates will be decided in this round. An estimated 1.73 crore voters were eligible to vote.

Bangalore Rural district recorded the highest polling of 72.5 per cent. It was 70 per cent in Ramanagaram district, which includes the Ramanagaram constituency from where the former Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy is contesting.

The other important contestants in the first phase include the former Deputy Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah (Varuna), and about 10 other former ministers.

Hassan, home district of Janata Dal (Secular) national president H.D. Deve Gowda, and the newly created districts of Chikkaballapur and Mandya recorded 68 per cent. The polling percentages in the other districts were 65 in Chamarajanagar, 63 in Tumkur, 64 in Kolar, 54 in Mysore, 55 in Bangalore Urban, 44 in Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike and 60 in Kodagu.

Notice to Shinde

New Delhi Special Correspondent reports:

In New Delhi, Deputy Election Commissioner R. Bhattacharya confirmed that the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer had issued notice to Union Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde for violation of the code of conduct. The Minister announced that the Centre would put up a 4,000-MW station in Karnataka if the Congress was voted to power.

Congress complaint

Asked about the Congress complaint that the BJP distributed bogus elector’s photo identity cards, he said investigation had been launched into a case in which one person was allegedly carrying 33 cards, 32 of them genuine.

Replying to another query, Mr. Bhattacharya confirmed that a polling official in a booth in the Varuna constituency was replaced pending inquiry into a complaint that he was being partial.

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