The fate of a total of 143 candidates including former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, Housing Minister V. Somanna and former Ministers H.C. Mahadevappa, Tanveer Sait and G.T. Deve Gowda was sealed in the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) as polling in the 11 Assembly constituencies in Mysuru district passed peacefully on Wednesday.
Voters lined up outside polling booths in many parts of the district as soon as the polling process commenced at 7 a.m. in the 2,905 polling booths across the district amid security.
In several booths, voters were asked by the polling personnel to bring the voter’s slip given by volunteers outside the polling booth to match their “part number” and “serial number” with the electoral rolls in their possession. Even voters with Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) were asked to bring the voter’s slip to cast their votes.
Complaints of EVM malfunctioning were reported from at least two places in Mysuru. Voters at a polling booth in Sharadadevi Nagar in Chamundeshwari constituency and at a booth in Gokulam extension in Chamaraja were forced to wait outside the booths till the errors in the EVM were rectified.
Though polling was by and large peaceful across the district, tense moments prevailed in Karya village in Varuna constituency when BJP candidate V. Somanna arrived to inspect a polling booth.
When Mr. Somanna was walking towards the booth, Congress workers opposed his entry and shouted slogans against him. Soon, BJP workers shouted slogans in support of Mr. Somanna. Police intervened and allowed Mr. Somanna to inspect the booth after some time.
As the polling began on a brisk note at 7 a.m. in the district, the poll percentage reached 8.19 per cent at 9 a.m. before progressing to 19.07 per cent at 11 a.m. and reaching 36.7 per cent at 1 p.m. and 52.45 per cent at 3 p.m.
An official statement said the voter turnout had reached 66.70 per cent at 5 p.m. while the approximate voter turnout for Mysuru district put out at 8.30 p.m. on the Voter Turnout app was 69.34 per cent. The figures pertaining to the voter turnout are expected to be revised further.
According to the Voter Turnout app, the highest poll percentage in the district was recorded in T. Narsipur, where 78.39 per cent of the votes were cast, followed by Varuna, where 77.11 per cent of votes were cast. Periyapatna had polled 76.49 per cent, while Nanjangud had polled 74.11 per cent and K.R. Nagar 72.30 per cent.
H.D. Kote had polled 72.11 per cent while Hunsur had recorded 70.06 per cent and Chamundeshwari had witnessed a voter turnout of 67.50 per cent.
The three Assembly constituencies in Mysuru city – Krishnaraja, Chamaraja and Narasimharaja – had secured the least voter turnout in the district. While Krishnaraja had recorded just 56.43, the lowest in the district, Chamaraja had polled 61.12 per cent and Narasimharaja 63.44 per cent.
The voter turnout in Mysuru district during the 2018 Assembly polls was around 75.24 per cent
