Bengaluru News Highlights: EC orders repoll in 1 station in Karnataka’s Chamrajanagar constituency on Monday

Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Saturday said the Congress will stage a demonstration on April 28 here against the 'paltry' drought relief given by the Centre to the state.

Shivakumar, who is also Congress state president, said against the demand for Rs 18,172 crore to mitigate drought in the state, the Centre has sanctioned only Rs 3,454 crore.

From drawings and paintings to sculptures and installations, one can find creations by artists from all across Karnataka at Art Park, a visual art initiative in Bengaluru, which will celebrate its 75th edition at the Bengaluru International Centre, Domlur, on April 28.

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday stayed a case of alleged Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violation filed against Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar.

The case was based on a complaint filed by the BJP on April 19 alleging that Shivakumar tried to blackmail voters at Rajarajeshwari Nagar by promising Cauvery water supply if they voted for the Congress.

"Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says, "According to Articles 15 and 16, those who have not got the opportunity, and those who are backward, socially and educationally, such people are entitled to reservation. There is no mention of any religion... PM Narendra Modi is lying. To polarise the votes, he is making such statements. He is desperate," said Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to ANI reporters in Kalaburgi.

"Big thanks to the voters of Karnataka for boldly defending our Constitution and democracy with their votes! Your participation shapes the future of our nation," wrote Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The Electronic Voting Machines were destroyed at a polling station in Indiganatha village in Chamarajanagara district on Friday during a clash between two groups of people over whether to vote or not in the Lok Sabha elections.

According to the district administration, the villagers had earlier in the day decided to boycott the polls citing lack of adequate infrastructure development. However, after assurances and efforts by the local officials, polling went underway.

As per preliminary information, one of the groups wanted to vote while the other was keen to boycott leading to clashes between them during which they destroyed EVMs, and also indulged in stone-pelting.

"As per a preliminary report, we have received information that there was a clash between two groups of villagers. They were not affiliated to any political party but (they complained of) lack of infrastructure development –- roads -- in the village," said Additional Chief Electoral Officer (Karnataka), Venkatesh Kumar.

All the furniture inside the polling booth has also been vandalised.

"EVMs have been completely destroyed. Polling officials did not sustain any hurt as they managed to escape. FIR is being filed in this regard. We are getting a detailed report after which the Election Commission will take the call," he said.

Those involved in the incident have absconded and police are trying to nab them, the officer said.

"The situation is under control now. However, since the EVMs have been destroyed, we need to check the status of polling, if the polling was started or not," he added. 

(PTI report)

BJP leader CT Ravi was on Friday booked for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity between citizens through his social media post, the Election Commission said.

The action was initiated by the election officials of Chikkamagaluru, they said.

Taking to 'X', the Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer said Chikkamagaluru election Officials have booked an FIR against CT Ravi for his post on X for violation under the Representation of the People Act and 505(2) (Statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes) of the Indian Penal Code in Basavanahalli police station for allegedly promoting hatred and enmity between different classes of citizens. 

(PTI report)

In an unexpected yet memorable sight in Karkala, Eklavya R Kateel, the eldest son of international sportsperson Rohit Kumar Kateel, captured the attention of the public by arriving at Booth No. 87 at Government Pre-Graduation College astride his own horse to cast his vote.

Eklavya's unique mode of transportation to the polling station in Udupi Chikmagalur constituency surprised and delighted onlookers. Party workers present there eagerly seized the opportunity to snap photographs with him amidst the excitement.

This striking display of civic duty combined with a touch of flair serves as a testament to the diverse and spirited ways in which individuals participate in the democratic process of voting.

(PTI report)

Banjarumale, an interior hamlet in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannda district, recorded 100 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha election on Friday.

Banjarumale, an interior hamlet in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannda district, recorded 100 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha election on Friday.

This hamlet has 111 voters and each one of them turned up at the only polling booth, completing voting two hours before polling ended at 6pm.

The hamlet is inhabited by forest dwellers, tribal farmers and collectors of minor forest waste. Despite having no power or transport connectivity, the people survive in the forest using water from the perennial water sources in the hills of the Western Ghats.

(PTI report)

Residents of Pavoor Uliya Island, nestled within Mangaluru and surrounded by water, showcased unwavering determination as they embarked on boat journeys to reach polling stations on Friday.

Voting was held for 14 constituencies as part of the first phase of Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka on Friday.

Pavoor Uliya Island comes under Dakshina Kannada Lok Sabha constituency.

Despite the absence of a connecting bridge, this resilient community refused to let geographical challenges obstruct their exercise of democratic rights.

With more than 50 families and over 150 voters, Pavoor Uliya Island exemplifies unity and civic engagement.

(PTI report)

Following a petition filed by Karnataka in Supreme Court, the Centre has approved a release of Rs 3,454 crore as drought relief to Karnataka.The state had sought Rs 18,171 crore as relief, of which Rs 4,663 crore was towards crop loss input subsidy and Rs 12,577 crore as gratuitous relief. Owing to delay in release of compensation, Karnataka government had approached the Supreme Court recently seeking directions for immediate release of relief

Nearly half of Bengaluru's voters did not turn up to vote in the Lok Sabha elections on Friday.

Voting took place in 14 constituencies in Karnataka, with the Election Commission estimating the turnout at 69.23 per cent.
However, the percentage of voters who exercised their franchise in three urban constituencies in the city -- Bangalore Central, Bangalore North and Bangalore South -- was significantly lower.

"There is no explanation for it. That is the truth," a top EC official said.

According to poll officials, scorching summer heat is said to be one of the reasons for the people not turning up at polling booths in the city.

(PTI report)

Voting in the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls, Karnataka recorded an overall voter turnout of 69%, one per cent more than the 2019 general elections.

Experts attribute the relatively low turnout to the summer heat with the temperatures soaring to 37 degrees Celsius and the election day falling on a weekend.

Poll was conducted in 30,602 polling stations. Overall, the polling is peaceful barring:

- One incident in PS No.146 Indiganatta of 221 Hanur Assembly Segment of 22- Chamarajanagar (SC) Parliamentary Constituency. The incident happened in the  polling station situated in an isolated habitat which can be reached through the forest of Male Mahadeshwara Hills Forest division. The PS is at about 60 KMs from  Hanur Administrative Headquarters and 120Kms from District Headquarters, with a travel time of more than 3 Hours 30 minutes. Polling station was setup after completing 
mock poll. No voters had turned up to cast their vote. There were a few villagers outside the polling station dissuading anyone who wanted  to vote. The Taluka Officials reached the PS around 1:30 PM and tried to persuade the  voters to cast their vote. Meanwhile, the District Tribal Welfare Officer, Circle Inspector  and 4 policemen reached Mandhare, a nearby tribal settlement where voters were 
willing to vote, but were intimidated by some people in the Indiganatta Village.

About 20 voters from Mandhare were brought for voting, a mob had started to assemble. Meanwhile 9 voters casted their votes around at 01:50 PM and additionally the polling personnel had casted 5 EDC votes. The mob aggravated, breached the 100-meter 
perimeter, pelted stones at the officials and PS. The rioters entered the polling booth, destroyed and burnt the Election materials and EVM machine, poll stopped. FIR has been booked. The matter has been reported to Election Commission of India

Speaking at another rally in Bellary today, Rahul Gandhi said that under the Modi rule, unemployment has spread like Covid-19 in the country.

“In the way he asked people to clap during Covid-19, he is asking the youth to make pakodas (fritters) now, the Congress leader said.

“Under Modi, loans to the tune of Rs 16 lakh crore were waived off. This is equal to MNREGA wages for 25 years,” he added.

Banjarumale, an interior hamlet in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannda district, recorded 100 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha election on Friday.

This hamlet has 111 voters and each one of them turned up at the only polling booth, completing voting two hours before polling ended at 6pm.

Overall, Dakshina Kannada recorded 71.83 per cent voter turnout.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday alleged that the Congress was distributing gift cards in Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha segment where sitting MP D K Suresh is locking horns with BJP’s Dr C N Manjunath.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the supporters of D K Suresh were distributing QR code gift coupons in the constituency and BJP-JD(S) workers were assaulted when they tried to intervene.

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At a polling station in Bengaluru South's Shantinagar constituency, an incident was reported wherein the "BALLOT" button on the control unit was allegedly not activated when a voter tried to cast his vote in the second phase of the polls today. It was only activated when the voter asked the third polling person to do so, as per the CEC's statement.

The CEC stated that the Assistant Returning Officer was sent to take note of the issue.

Total entries in the register is said to have tallied "perfectly" with the control unit, indicating that no case of non-activation had taken place.

"Case is booked against Tejasvi Surya MP and Candidate of Bengaluru South PC on 25.04.24 at Jayanagar PS u/s 123(3) for posting a video in X handle and soliciting votes on the ground of religion."

BJP’s firebrand leader Tejasvi Surya, the national president of its youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, is fighting against Congress’s Sowmya Reddy, who lost the 2023 Assembly polls from Jayanagar by just 16 votes.

Security was beefed up at the Bangalore Rural constituency where Congress candidate D K Suresh, the brother of Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar will take on BJP’s Dr C N Manjunath, the son-in-law of JD(S) supremo HD Deve Gowda.

Bangalore Rural was the only constituency the Congress had won in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Bangalore Rural recorded a voter turnout of 49.62 per cent till 3 pm in phase 2 of the Lok Sabha polls today.

In a bid to encourage voter turnout or phase 2 of the Lok Sabha polls, various restaurants in Bengaluru offered free dosas, laddu, coffee and other food items for free or at discounted rates to customers who cast their vote on Friday.

Many restaurants affiliated to Bruhath Bangalore Hotels Association (BBHA) have come up with this innovative idea to encourage voting in the IT city. Some of them are offering food either for free or at a discounted price to those who vote in the Lok Sabha elections.

Out of 14 segments that are going to the polls today, the highest turnout of 48.10 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 46.43 per cent, and the least 30.10 per cent in Bangalore Central.

The turnout was 31.51 per cent in Bangalore South, and 32.25 per cent in Bangalore North.

Out of 14 segments that are going to the polls today, the highest turnout of 48.10 per cent was recorded in Dakshina Kannada, followed by Udupi-Chikmagalur 46.43 per cent, and the least 30.10 per cent in Bangalore Central.

The turnout was 31.51 per cent in Bangalore South, and 32.25 per cent in Bangalore North.

During the second phase of the Lok Sabha polls in Karnataka, the voter turnout stood at 38.23% by 1 pm. Dakshina Kannada registered the highest turnout at 40%, while Bengaluru Central recorded the lowest at 30.10%. Over 2.8 crore eligible voters across the state are expected to cast their votes in this phase. Meanwhile, voters in Bangalore shared their considerations before casting their ballots.

BJP Tumakuru Lok Sabha constituency candidate V Somanna cast his vote on Friday. He is standing against S P Muddahanumegowda (INC) from the INDIA alliance.

(Express Photo by Jitendra M)

On a post on X (formerly Twitter), Bangalore Central MP and Lok Sabha candidate PC Mohan shared that he had cast his vote. He also encouraged the people of Bengaluru to do the same. 

'Go out and vote, my beloved Bengaluru,' he wrote on X.

(Source: X/@PCMohanMP)

Hassan constituency Bharatiya Janata Patyt (BJP) - Janata Dal (Secular) alliance Lok Sabha candidate Prajwal Revanna also cast his vote on Friday in the first phase of polling in Karnataka.

Actor Yash cast his vote at a polling booth set up in Government Higher Primary School in Hosakerehalli, Bengaluru in the first phase of polling in the state today.

"The government should do what it is supposed to do and it should let people do what they are doing. I think interference should be less. Empowerment should be done, there are so many things, that I expect as a citizen," he told reporters.

With the Congress seeking to break the BJP’s two-decade stranglehold over the seat, the Bangalore North constituency will be one of the key battlegrounds in the Lok Sabha elections in Karnataka. The constituency has gone to polls today.

This year, the battle is between Congress’s M V Rajeev Gowda and BJP’s Shobha Karandlaje, two political veterans from different backgrounds. While Gowda is an ex- Rajya Sabha MP, Reserve Bank of India central board member and IIM-B professor from a family with a political background in Karnataka, Karandlaje is the sitting MP from Udupi-Chikmagalur and Union minister of state for agriculture and farmers welfare, now fighting her third Lok Sabha election.

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When the BJP began building a case for an anti-conversion law in Karnataka while it was in power between 2019-2023, one of the central regions in its campaign was Chitradurga, one of the state’s poorest districts where nearly 30 per cent of people are from Dalit and tribal communities employed in farm and migrant labour.

In September 2021, Gulihatti Shekhar, the then BJP MLA from Hosadurga, one of the six Assembly segments in the Chitradurga Lok Sabha constituency, claimed in the Karnataka legislature that large-scale conversions to Christianity were taking place in Chitradurga.

Voters across four constituencies in Bengaluru, which were among the 14 Lok Sabha seats that went to polls in Karnataka, came out to vote in heat wave-like conditions on Friday.

Bengaluru North, Bengaluru Central, Bengaluru Rural and Bengaluru South are among the 14 constituencies in the state that voted in the first phase today.

“Although Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has not included Bengaluru in the list of heat wave affected areas, the city does satisfy one of the heat wave conditions – the departure from normal temperatures by at least 4.5 degrees,” said A Prasad, a scientist at IMD Bengaluru.

(PTI report)

Bengaluru South Lok Sabha candidate Tejasvi Surya cast his vote along with his family.

(Express Photo by Jitendra M)

• Udupi Chikmagalur: 46.43%
• Hassan: 40.99%
• Dakshina Kannada: 48.10%
• Chitradurga : 39.05%
• Tumkur: 41.91%
• Mandya : 40.70%
• Mysore: 41.51%
• Chamarajanagar: 39.57%
• Bengaluru Rural: 36.09%
• Bangalore North : 32.25%
• Bangalore central : 30.10%
• Bangalore South : 31.51%
• Chikkballapur: 39.85%
• Kolar: 38.42%

• Karnataka, with 14 seats going to polls, has the most candidates in the fray at 247 during the second phase of Lok Sabha Polls on Friday.
• Of the total 250 candidates for Phase 2 polling across the country, 39 candidates from Karnataka have criminal cases against them.
• Of the total 390 crorepati candidates in the Phase 2 polling across the country, Karnataka has the most at 80.
• Contesting from Mandya in Karnataka, Venkataramane Gowda from Congress, stands to be the richest among all candidates in Phase 2, with assets worth Rs 623 crore.
• Contesting from Bangalore Rural in Karnataka, D K Suresh from Congress, stands to be the second richest among all candidates in Phase 2, with assets worth Rs 593 crore.
• A contest to watch out for in Phase 2 is that between Former CM H D Kumaraswamy (JDS) and Venkataramane Gowda (Congress) in Mandya.

Former Karnataka Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Friday alleged that the Congress was distributing gift cards in Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha segment where sitting MP D K Suresh is locking horns with BJP’s Dr C N Manjunath.

Kumaraswamy alleged that the supporters of D K Suresh were distributing QR code gift coupons in the constituency and BJP-JD(S) workers were assaulted when they tried to intervene.

As voting for the second phase of Lok Sabha began on Friday, Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar on Friday urged first-time voters to "go for a change" as BJP has been in power in the centre for a decade and to give his party, the Congress a chance.

"Karnataka is going to poll; the state is giving very big results and people are very happy as whatever we said in the last elections we have delivered. Women are cutting across the party line, all of them are favouring us and I thank all of them. For the first-time voters- the youth of this country, I have to say that Congress has put up a beautiful manifesto. You have to make a change as it is needed, you have given 10 years and now let's go for a change," he said.

He also asserted that Congress will cross 20 seats out this time in the State which has 28 parliamentary constituencies.

(ANI report)

Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje on Friday took a dig at Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, saying he has been speaking against Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he is "frustrated." "The whole nation is standing with Narendra Modi, it's only Siddaramaiah who is speaking against Modi," the Bangalore North Lok Sabha candidate told PTI Videos.

She appealed to people to exercise their franchise "because today is a day to celebrate democracy. It's a festival of democracy."

(PTI report)

Shivaramakrishna Shastri, a resident of CV Raman Nagar, at the age of 86 came to the polling booth and voted for the 20th time.

Senior citizens were allowed to vote at home. However, Sivaramakrishna Shastri had decided to vote in the polling booth itself. So, along with his son and daughter-in-law, he came to the polling station of DRDO Central Vidyalaya and cast his vote. The police took him to the polling station in a wheel chair and facilitated him to vote.

He said, "Voting is our right, If you vote at home, you will not know its significance. If you vote at the polling booth, you will feel happy."

(Express Photo by Jitendra M)

Manipal Hospitals, in collaboration with the Election Commission of India and BBMP, ensures assisted voting for 41 patients aged 25 to 103 across Bengaluru constituencies.

Patients, including Mr. Madhan, 25, an accident victim on the path of recovery, Mr. Srinivas Rao, 76, who underwent uro-surgery yesterday, and Ms. Kalavathi, 78, undergoing treatment for pneumonia, showcased determination despite medical adversities.

Manipal Hospitals, with its initiative, ensured inclusivity and civic duty, providing transportation and medical assistance, and allowing every citizen, regardless of health circumstances, to participate in the democratic process.

Chickballapur Lok Sabha candidate K Sudhakar cast his vote along with his family in the second half of polling today.

(Express Photo)

Hours ahead of Lok Sabha polling in Karnataka on April 26, JD(S) supremo and former prime minister H D Deve Gowda has alleged that the regional party which is in alliance with the BJP was not getting support from a section of BJP workers in the state.

The JD(S) is contesting three Lok Sabha seats – Hassan, Mandya and Kolar – in alliance with the BJP.

"As a responsible citizen of our great country, I have cast my vote. Jai hind," said billionaire entrepreneur Kiran Mazumdar Shaw.

(Express Photo)

• Udupi Chikmagalur: 29.03%
• Hassan: 22.03%
• Dakshina Kannada: 30.98 %
• Chitradurga : 21.75%
• Tumkur: 23.32%
• Mandya : 21.24%
• Mysore: 25.09 %
• Chamarajanagar: 22.81%
• Bengaluru Rural: 20.35%
• Bangalore North : 19.78%
• Bangalore central : 19.21%
• Bangalore South : 19.81 %
• Chikkballapur: 21.92%
• Kolar: 20.76%

The voter turnout for Karnataka's first phase of polling saw a considerable increase clocked at 11am, with 22.30 percent recorded overall and highest noted in Dakshina Kannda at 30.98 percent, and lowest in Bengaluru Central at 19.21%.

Mandya Lok Sabha candidate and former CM H D Kumaraswamy and his family members voted at a polling booth near Bidadi, Ramanagar district.

(Special Arrangement)