The polling in Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency, spread over seven assembly segments of Shivamogga district and Byndoor of Udupi district, was peaceful on Tuesday. Barring a couple of incidents where electronic voting machines developed technical glitches, the process was smooth.
Many voters turned up to exercise their right to vote in the early hours. As the booths were open to the voters, after the mock poll exercise, many were already in queue in many places, including Shivamogga city. The voters felt that it was better to vote early in the day, as the temperature would go up as the day went by.
In parts of Gadikoppa, Vinoba Nagar, Navule, Durgigudi and other localities of the city, the voters’ response was impressive. Many first-time voters took selfies after casting their votes. The Election Commission had set up model booths with different themes to attract voters.
A booth at Shivamogga Zilla Panchayat office was designed to treat voters as kings and queens. After voting, the citizens could take pictures seated on a king’s seat with a crown over their heads. The polling staff were also dressed to resemble the king’s durbar. Many first-time voters and senior citizens clicked selfies happily.
The polling was halted for a few minutes at Chikpet in Soraba following a technical problem with the electronic voting machine. The officials reached the booth and replaced the machine. The voters had to wait in the queue.
By 9 a.m. Shivamogga Lok Sabha constituency recorded 11.45% of voters’ turnout. Among those who voted early in the day are former Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa, his sons B.Y. Raghavendra, BJP candidate in Shivamogga, and B.Y. Vijayendra, state BJP president. They offered prayers at Huchcharaya Swamy Temple in Shikaripur town, before casting their votes at the polling station set up at the taluk office in the town.
Mr. Yediyurappa exuded confidence that his party, – BJP – would win at least 25 or 26 seats in Karnataka. “We will win all 14 that went to the polls in the first phase. Even if we miss one or two constituencies in the second phase, we are sure of winning at least 25 or 26,” he said. Minister for School Education Madhu Bangarappa, the younger brother of Congress candidate Geetha Shivarajkumar, exercised his right to vote at Kubatur in Soraba taluk. Speaking to the media, Madhu Bangarappa maintained that the people would stand by the truth in the election, and oppose the emotional issues raised with an eye on votes.
Former BJP Minister K.S. Eshwarappa, who is in the fray as an Independent candidate, did cast his vote in Shivamogga. He alleged that BJP candidate and his supporters were engaged in a campaign to mislead the voters, by circulating an old video clip in which he (Eshwarappa) was seen campaigning for the candidate (Raghavendra). “Out of frustration, the BJP candidate has resorted to such cheap tricks,” he alleged.
