Voting began amid tight security in Bengaluru's Rajarajeshwari Nagar Assembly constituency at 7 am on Monday.
The elections to the Assembly segment were deferred due to the seizure of 9,564 Election Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) from an apartment at Jalahalli.
The polling officers had also found a huge cache of freebies belonging to a political party. Following the directions of the Election Commission, police investigated the matter and registered a case against many people, including the Congress candidate Munirathna.
The office of the chief electoral officer stated in a press release that all the EPICs seized have been returned to the owners. Besides, Munirathna, other candidates from prominent political parties in the fray are BJP's Muniraju Gowda and JD(S)'s G H Ramachandra.
There are 11 others contesting the election. The constituency has 4.71 lakh voters, including 2.25 lakh women.
There are 421 polling stations in the constituency. Ten companies of CISF and 10 platoons of KSRP have been deployed to ensure free and fair poll, police said.
After the May 12 Assembly elections, the equations have changed dramatically with political rivals the Congress and the JD(S) becoming coalition partners in the government.
However, senior leaders of both the parties held road shows seeking votes for their respective candidates. The BJP, too, put in all its efforts to ensure the victory of their candidate.
Munirathna and five of his followers entered one of the booths in Malathahalli, reports DHNS. The police allowed Munirathna's followers to enter the booth, which is a violation of the law, but did not allow the media.
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