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Journalism of Courage
The voting for Karnataka Assembly elections were held peacefully on Wednesday, and the state witnessed a record voter turnout of 72.67 per cent, which is higher than the 72.13 per cent polling recorded in 2018 (the highest in the state since 1952). The state recorded 71 per cent polling in 2013 and 65 per cent in 2008 for the 224 assembly seats. The results of the election will be announced on May 13, Saturday.
The highest polling of 90 per cent was recorded in Melukote where the Congress is supporting Darshan Puttannaiah, a candidate from a farmers’ party, and in Hoskote. Most of the constituencies in the Old Mysore region witnessed polling of over 75 per cent.
The Kanakapura seat of state Congress president D K Shivakumar saw over 85 per cent voter turnout while the Varuna seat of former Congress chief minister Siddaramaiah also saw over 84 per cent of voters turning up at polling booths.
There are 64 seats in the Old Mysore region where the fight is typically between the Congress and JDS with the BJP making slow gains in the region.
Parts of Mumbai Karnataka where there are 50 seats at stake with a direct battle between the ruling BJP and the Congress – amid a slight erosion of Lingayat votes of the BJP – witnessed 75 per cent polling.
The Yamakanamaradi seat in Belagavi – where Congress working president Satish Jarkiholi is a key contestant – witnessed 82 per cent polling while as many as six other seats out of a total of 18 in the Belagavi district recorded over 80 per cent of voting.
The Hubli Dharwad Central seat where BJP rebel and Lingayat leader Jagadish Shettar, who is a former CM, is fighting on a Congress ticket witnessed 64.18 per cent polling while the Athani seat where former BJP deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, also a Lingayat, is fighting on a Congress ticket witnessed 80 per cent polling.
Karnataka chief minister Bommai’s Shiggaon seat which lies in the region saw 79.6 per cent polling.
The impoverished Hyderabad-Karnataka region witnessed voting in the range of 65 per cent, which is at lower end of the polling percentages in the state. The voter turnout was low at Kalaburagi district while districts such as Koppal saw over 75 per cent voting. There are three-way fights between Congress, BJP and JDS in many of the 40 seats in the region.
The city of Bengaluru, which traditionally recorded low voting across its 28 constituencies, saw a turnout of 54.53 per cent at the close of voting at 6 pm. This year’s polling percentage was higher than the one in 2018 (46 per cent), but lower than the one in 2013 (58 per cent).
Coastal Karnataka, where politics is highly communalised and voter numbers are usually high, maintained the trend of over 75 per cent voting in the 19 seats in the region.
In central Karnataka where there are 23 seats, the polling was above 75 per cent in most seats, including the Shikaripura seat where BJP has fielded former chief minister B S Yediyurappa’s son B Y Vijayendra. The constituency recorded a turnout of 82.57 per cent.
