Moderate voting in Karnataka

Bengaluru, April 23 (IANS) Voting picked up in Karnataka's 14 Lok Sabha constituencies to register 21.05 per cent by 12 noon on Tuesday, an official said.

"Moderate to brisk voting was witnessed after 10 a.m. in most of the parliamentary seats as the electorate wanted to avoid the heat because day temperatures soar above 40 degrees Centigrade in the western and northern regions of the state post-noon till 4 p.m.," a poll official told IANS.

According to data received by the state's chief electoral officer here, Shimoga registered 24.78 per cent voting till noon, followed by Chikkodi 24.56 per cent, Bellary (ST) 23.66 per cent and 22.33 per cent in Uttara Kannada.

Least voter turnout of 18.10 per cent was reported from Haveri, followed by Gulbarga (SC) 18.69 per cent, Bijapur (SC) 18.99 per cent and 19.08 per cent in Bidar.

Polling percentage in other seats were 21.80 in Koppal, 21.71 in Bagalkot, 21.48 in Dharwad, 20.51 per cent in Davanagere, 20.04 per cent in Raichur (ST) and 19.99 in Belgaum.

Voting began at 7 a.m. in 28,022 polling stations across the regions.

Glitches in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPATs) in many polling stations delayed voting initially.

Among the early voters were Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state unit President B.S. Yeddyurappa and his family at Shikaripura in the Shimoga parliamentary seat, and BJP candidate Umesh Jadhav at Chincholi in the Gulbarga (SC) constituency.

Yeddyurappa's son B.Y. Raghavendra is contesting from Shimoga for the third time against Madhu Bangarappa, son of late Congress Chief Minster S. Bangarappa.

Jadhav is contesting against Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge, who is in the fray for a hat trick in the Lok Sabha.

Others who voted by noon include Kharge in Gulbarga (SC), BJP's candidate Pralhad Joshi in Dharwad and BJP's sitting member G.M. Siddeshwar in Davanagere.

An estimated 2.43 crore citizens -- 1.23 crore men, 1.20 crore women and some 10 lakh first time voters in the 18-19 age group -- are on the rolls to exercise their franchise.

"Polling will be held till 6 p.m. in the 14 parliamentary seats across the erstwhile Bombay province and the Hyderabad-Karnataka region," added the official.

The constituencies include Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Bijapur (SC), Gulbarga (SC), Raichur (ST), Bidar, Koppal, Bellary (ST), Haveri, Dharwad, Uttara Kannada, Davanagere and Shimoga.

The state's chief electoral office has identified 5,605 polling stations as critical with additional police deployment to ensure peaceful polling and avoid any untoward incident.

In all, 237 candidates, including 10 women, are in the fray, with 164 Independents.

With the ruling Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) and Congress fielding common candidates as part of their pre-poll alliance, the BJP nominees are locked in a straight contest with them after nearly three decades.

While the Congress is contesting Chikkodi, Belgaum, Bagalkot, Gulbarga (SC), Raichur (ST), Bidar, Koppal, Bellary (ST), Haveri, Dharwad and Davanagere seats, the JD-S is fighting in Bijapur (SC), Shimoga and Uttara Kannada.

Union Minister and BJP leader Anant Kumar Hegde is in the fray from Uttara Kannada on the state's west coast against Anand Asnotikar of the JD-S.

In the Bellary (ST) seat, BJP's Devandrappa is facing outgoing Congress member V.S. Ugrappa, who won the seat in the November 2018 by-election.

In Dharwad, Joshi is taking on Vinay Kulkarni of the Congress. In Bidar, Congress state working President Eshwar Khandre is facing sitting BJP member Bhagawanth Khuba.

Union Minister and BJP leader Ramesh Jigajinagi is contesting against JD-S candidate woman leader Sunita Devanand.

The Congress has also fielded woman candidate Veena Kasappanavar in Bagalkot against outgoing BJP MP P.C. Gaddigoudar.

The BJP has not fielded any woman in this phase. Its sitting member Shobha Karandlaje re-contested from Udupi-Chikamagalur in the April 18 polling.