05-11-2008, 05:30 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>50% polling in Karnataka </b>
Pioneer News Service | Bangalore
Though <b>a majority of the middle-class voters, especially in Bangalore, stayed away, Karnataka witnessed 50 per cent polling</b> in a largely peaceful polling process in 89 Assembly constituencies spread across 11 districts in southern Karnataka.
While the initial estimate of polling percentage was around <b>50 per cent in Bangalore, the polling was over 70 per cent in Hassan district, the home district of the JD(S) President HD Deve Gowda. Among those whose fate would be sealed in the first phase involving 42 per cent of the electorate (1.72-crore voters), include former Chief Minister and the JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy from Ramanagaram, and Congress leader Siddaramaiah in Mysore</b>.
In far away Hubli in the northern Karnataka, where the polling is due on May 22, a low-intensity improvised explosive device exploded in the premises of a court, damaging the furniture. No one was hurt. The explosion occurred beneath the witness box in the court hall where SIMI terror suspects are being tried.
One of the causes being attributed for low polling was the strict vigilance kept by the Election Commission on the election process. This not only prevented the candidates from indulging in lavish campaigning, but also dissuaded parties from transporting voters to the polling station. The Commission also ensured there was least rigging this time. <b>However, reports said there was unprecedented bribing of voters by political parties on the eve of polling with cash being distributed in many parts of Bangalore</b>. Interestingly, a number of realtors are in the fray from all the major parties.
<b>According to pollsters, low percentage of polling normally benefits the Congress which has a committed vote bank. Parties like the BJP benefit only when the voting percentage is high because the educated voters turn up in large numbers</b>.
Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said Bangalore was very important for winning the elections. "If you win Bangalore, your victory is assured. And now with the number of seats going up in Bangalore, we are confident of doing well in the city."
JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy, who cast his vote accompanied by his wife Anitha in Ramanagaram, told reporters on the prospects of his party: "I am not going to be the kingmaker, but the king." There were several cases of voters in Bangalore not finding their names in the voters' list. Electronic voting machines also failed in the Krishnaraja constituency in Mysore.
According to reports, police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse a group of persons who were trying to cast bogus votes at Chickpet in Bangalore. Around 58,000 security personnel were deployed to ensure peaceful polling
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Pioneer News Service | Bangalore
Though <b>a majority of the middle-class voters, especially in Bangalore, stayed away, Karnataka witnessed 50 per cent polling</b> in a largely peaceful polling process in 89 Assembly constituencies spread across 11 districts in southern Karnataka.
While the initial estimate of polling percentage was around <b>50 per cent in Bangalore, the polling was over 70 per cent in Hassan district, the home district of the JD(S) President HD Deve Gowda. Among those whose fate would be sealed in the first phase involving 42 per cent of the electorate (1.72-crore voters), include former Chief Minister and the JD(S) leader HD Kumaraswamy from Ramanagaram, and Congress leader Siddaramaiah in Mysore</b>.
In far away Hubli in the northern Karnataka, where the polling is due on May 22, a low-intensity improvised explosive device exploded in the premises of a court, damaging the furniture. No one was hurt. The explosion occurred beneath the witness box in the court hall where SIMI terror suspects are being tried.
One of the causes being attributed for low polling was the strict vigilance kept by the Election Commission on the election process. This not only prevented the candidates from indulging in lavish campaigning, but also dissuaded parties from transporting voters to the polling station. The Commission also ensured there was least rigging this time. <b>However, reports said there was unprecedented bribing of voters by political parties on the eve of polling with cash being distributed in many parts of Bangalore</b>. Interestingly, a number of realtors are in the fray from all the major parties.
<b>According to pollsters, low percentage of polling normally benefits the Congress which has a committed vote bank. Parties like the BJP benefit only when the voting percentage is high because the educated voters turn up in large numbers</b>.
Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu said Bangalore was very important for winning the elections. "If you win Bangalore, your victory is assured. And now with the number of seats going up in Bangalore, we are confident of doing well in the city."
JD(S) leader Kumaraswamy, who cast his vote accompanied by his wife Anitha in Ramanagaram, told reporters on the prospects of his party: "I am not going to be the kingmaker, but the king." There were several cases of voters in Bangalore not finding their names in the voters' list. Electronic voting machines also failed in the Krishnaraja constituency in Mysore.
According to reports, police resorted to lathi-charge to disperse a group of persons who were trying to cast bogus votes at Chickpet in Bangalore. Around 58,000 security personnel were deployed to ensure peaceful polling
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